


Falling Hope, Rising Threat

by Marcus_S_Lazarus



Series: Avengers of Panem [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The 100 (TV), The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Panem & the Coalition, dark future
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:40:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 44
Words: 149,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23600230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marcus_S_Lazarus/pseuds/Marcus_S_Lazarus
Summary: When strange objects fall from the sky, Katniss must lead the Avengers in a new challenge as they discover further secrets of the pre-Panem world...
Series: Avengers of Panem [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1698709
Kudos: 4





	1. Peace in Her Time

It had been a few months since the death of President Snow, and I still wasn't sure if I would ever get used to the thrill of acting as an Avenger.

It wasn't that I enjoyed hurting people, but I appreciated the satisfaction of knowing that my actions ensured that nobody would have to endure the fear of a Reaping or the trauma of the Games ever again. I still had to kill sometimes, but at least when I was fighting as an Avenger I knew that I was killing people who wanted to bring back the old world, rather than children who were just as trapped by the system as I was. I even enjoyed having allies that I _knew_ wouldn't have to stab me in the back later on if I didn't get them first, as all of the Avengers went into action knowing that we could trust each other.

Of course, the best part of my role was the relative freedom I enjoyed; after our victory over the Maestro, few people had questioned that the Avengers had earned their title of 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes' all over again, which made the select few who might have resented our authority very uncomfortable with trying to take it away from us. While Alma Coin had never been entirely satisfied with our overall approach, and Thor's erratic role in the team had earned him her particular attention given her lack of knowledge about where he came from and the fact that he often had to leave to deal with matters on Asgard, her thoughts on the matter were no longer our concern. Ever since the first elections of the new Panem had resulted in Commander Paylor of District 8 being elected president of the new Panem rather than Coin, she didn't have any real power over us, and her attempts to argue that we were a potential threat had only jeopardised her position further, and she was current fuming in isolation in District Thirteen.

After the command structure of the new Panem government had been set up, it hadn't taken long for Steve to help us establish our new role. Once it had been decided that we would be subject to certain limitations when it came to government work so long as we had complete freedom to take action when dealing with confirmed threats, the new rulers had agreed that we would only be called upon in cases where there was a clear and present danger that conventional Peacekeeper forces would be unable to handle, or situations where we had a clear target with minimal risk of innocent life; Steve had made it clear that the Avengers were not to be used to fight standard wars between other countries.

The most obvious priority of the team had been the need to take out any of Snow's remaining followers who might have tried to grab power for themselves, but even without anyone on our team with power similar to the Hulk, and with Thor only an intermittent ally due to his own duties on Asgard, we'd quickly worked out how best to make an impact when we had to go into action.

Despite our lack of power, what I liked to think of as the four 'core' members of my Avengers team were making a fair impression even when going into action without Thor. With the original Avengers having helped us destroy most of Panem's major military assets, all that was left were some isolated pockets of resistance favouring the restoration of the old Capitol that were becoming even harder to track down as time went on, which we all hoped meant that anyone still in favour of that idea was either dead or resigned to giving up the whole idea.

Aside from our developing combat experience, we were also working on improving our other areas of expertise. While I still deferred to Steve's experience when he had a point to make, in general I was acknowledged as the field leader of the Avengers when we went into action, with Steve simply serving as a tactical advisor and administrator to ensure that we maintained our relationship with Panem's government. I still felt somewhat strange about having even Thor defer to my orders in a fight, but he had accepted my authority in Earth-related matters and otherwise left the issue alone.

Of the other three Avengers, Peeta in particular had developed his mechanical skills so that he could carry out any repairs that the Iron Man armour might require without needing aid from Beete, and Johanna and Finnick had become experts in the use of their new weapons and Johanna's new arm, adapting to compensate for their new assets while also using their existing talents. Peeta still wasn't comfortable making any serious changes to the Iron Man armour in case he damaged it in some way, but he was fairly sure that he could put it back together if anything happened in the field. In keeping with his title of 'the Mariner', Finnick had modified his costume to include an aquatic mask in case he ever needed to go swimming or enter a potentially toxic environment, and he, Johanna and I had upgraded our original costumes to increase their ability to absorb attacks, even if I'd kept my armour comparatively lighter due to the additional protection offered by my shield.

As far as team development went, the only thing that I wasn't comfortable about was a decision that Steve had made without consulting me. After a couple of close calls where Finnick had needed urgent medical attention after a raid, Steve had nominated that Prim join the team as our new field medic, reasoning that we could all trust her and she had received enough training from our mother to treat most injuries long enough to keep any injured alive long enough to get them to more equipped facilities. She was under instructions to remain in the hovercraft unless I gave her an explicit order to come and assist us, but she'd been given full stealth training by Gale and similar experts in that field.

I would have been uncertain about the idea of Prim joining the team on principle, but the fact that Steve had given her the codename of 'Black Widow' just made me more uncomfortable. Steve had assured me that he wasn't interested in teaching her how to fight in favour of focusing on improving her stealth skills and any other field training he could offer, but as much as I'd admired Natasha when we'd worked together, the thought of Prim becoming like her…

Right now, however, all had been quiet for the last couple of weeks, and despite the fact that I was technically unemployed until the next crisis arose, I was feeling pretty good about myself. I'd spent so much time feeling comparatively useless after I'd won the Seventy-Fourth Games and found myself no longer needing to _do_ anything to survive, but even if there was nothing that actively demanded my attention as an Avenger right now, I could still spend time training with the others and on my own and feel like I was genuinely accomplishing something rather than just going through old motions.

It helped that my new house felt far more like something _I_ would choose, as opposed to the overly decorated style of my family home in the Victor's Village. Since Finnick, Johanna and I were all well-known as Avengers, my mother and Annie had been relocated to a secure facility some distance outside most of the Districts, the area giving us freedom to train and plan for anything that might come up while also allowing our families to do their own work. Annie had taken to transcribing some of the stories Steve had kept in his archives from before the first major war so that they could be shared with the other Districts now that we'd abandoned the old Capitol propaganda, while my mother was using some of his old records to study more advanced medical techniques so that she could act as a doctor rather than just a healer.

At the moment, with Peeta visiting some old friends back in the rebuilt District Twelve- since Iron Man had a full-body suit, it was easier for Peeta to hide his identity- and Johanna and Finnick attending a briefing at the Council to help Steve report on our latest developments while Prim had lessons with my mother, I was enjoying the rare opportunity for a decent rest in my room, with no need to worry about training or missions for the next couple of days…

The sudden ring of my video phone interrupted my thoughts. For a moment, as I got up from my couch, I was tempted to ignore it in favour of my hard-earned peace, but when I saw the familiar 'A' logo on the screen, I swiftly realised that I couldn't do that; only one person called with that as their icon, and he wouldn't call me on a hard-earned day off for no reason.

"Steve?" I said, looking at the vid-screen in surprise as I turned it on and saw my mentor; it took a great deal to unnerve the man who had once been known as Captain America, but he was clearly at least somewhat uncomfortable about something. "What's up?"

" _I've just been alerted by Stark's automated stellar scanning network that something is falling from the sky_ ," Steve explained grimly.

" _Something_?" I repeated, looking at him uncertainly once I remembered that he was referring to a system of satellites that Tony Stark had once created to warn Earth about potential attacks after the Battle of New York; something striking Earth from space sounded like a problem, to be sure, but I didn't see how it was a problem that merited a call like this. "Like… a meteor?"

" _Not exactly_ ," Steve replied. " _Whatever this is… well, my access to the tracking systems have been very erratic ever since the Maestro began to set up Panem, so I can't be certain_ what _it is, but I can confirm that we're talking about something very big that doesn't_ quite _seem to be a natural phenomenon_ …"

"Not natural?" I repeated uncertainly.

" _All I can say for sure is that we've had a few similar impacts in the past couple of months_ ," Steve explained. " _The first couple were fairly small and contained on the east coast, so I never saw the need to bring them up, and the third one fragmented significantly even before it hit the ground, but in this case… well, I'm not an expert on anything relating to space, but even I know that you don't get this many large meteors on this kind of short notice. They're coming in at a rate that can't be controlled, so I don't think we're dealing with a new Chitauri assault or anything like that, but I can be sure that whatever's happening up there, it's not a natural meteor shower that we just missed seeing earlier_."

"Right…" I said, nodding thoughtfully as I shrugged on my jacket and grabbed my assembled weaponry. From what I recalled of the map Steve had once shown me of Panem, most of the country was concentrated in the centre and the west coast of what had been America in Steve's time, so anything hitting the east coast wouldn't have immediately raised any red flags as there wasn't meant to be anything in that area. "So what do you think?"

" _I think that anything unusual from space merits the attention of the Avengers_ ," Steve said grimly. " _Like I said, there seem to be several fragments coming down, so I've tracked one of them to an apparent destination close to District Three; based on projections, it seems to be the most likely to come down in one piece close to our area. At least one other will land fairly safely on the east coast, and nothing's going to touch down in a manner that could endanger innocent lives, but I think it's best we focus on the nearest target before we take action on a larger scale. I've sent a message to Thor and Peeta with the appropriate coordinates, and Johanna and Finnick will be coming by to pick you up before you all head out there yourselves_."

"Do we go in to talk, or go in firing?" I asked, already mentally counting my available arrows.

"Talk, but be ready to fire, which is why I think you and Peeta should go first; you're the ones best-qualified to defend yourselves without hurting the other side if it's just a misunderstanding," Steve explained. "Be careful, Katniss; things falling from the sky can be… problematic."

I nodded in understanding before I terminated the video-phone and ran to collect Prim; if this 'object' that had inspired such concern from Steve wasn't a natural phenomenon, having a trained medic available couldn't hurt.

I just hoped that he was right and this wasn't going to turn out to be some kind of alien invasion or whatever the term was; we might be finding our way as a team, but we weren't ready for something that big yet…


	2. The Coming of the Ark

"Damn…" Johanna said, voicing the thoughts of everyone in the hovercraft as we drew closer to our destination. "That is _big_."

She might be the most direct of us, but this was one case where Johanna had certainly come up with the perfect description of the situation facing us. My fellow surviving Victors had been all too willing to participate in the investigation into the crash once Steve had called them, and even Prim had been keen to come along once I asked for her assistance, even if I couldn't guarantee that she'd have anything to do when we got there.

According to available maps, the object had crashed down near an old factory in District Three, but as we drew in closer to our destination I realised that the maps hadn't measured the distance quite correctly; the falling object had actually landed _on_ the factory, instead of just landing near it. Fortunately, it was one of the facilities that had been closed down during the initial rebellion and hadn't been re-opened yet, so at least we didn't have to worry about the risk of civilian casualties, but searching the object itself would still left us with a lot of work.

Looking at the object as it came into clearer view, I wasn't sure if I should be impressed or disappointed. Far from the meteor or alien ship I'd been partly expecting and partly dreading I might find, it seemed to consist four large thick circles around a thinner interior rod with a small pod on one end, metal decayed and blackened in a manner that went far beyond what I'd expect from something entering Earth's atmosphere. Large chunks of metal were lying scattered around it beyond what had been spread out from the destruction of the factory, and the circles themselves seemed to have various holes in them as though they'd been cracked by the impact, but in general Earth's new 'visitor' seemed to have arrived reasonably intact.

Looking at the shattered construct that could have only been a ship of some kind, I suddenly found myself regretting Thor's current absence; I knew that he had responsibilities as king of Asgard, and this didn't look like anything in it would be a serious threat, but when I'd only ever faced human adversaries so far, it was only natural for me to wish that the team's powerhouse was available for something this unusual…

"Anything?" I asked, glancing over at Peeta from his position beside the pilot's seat. The hovercraft's sensors were fairly good at just detecting life-signs if we wanted to know if there was anyone alive in the area, but the Iron Man suit's sensors were better-equipped to give us a more detailed reading once we got up-close to our targets.

"A few human life-signs…" Peeta noted as he stared over the shattered shape in front of us, before he looked grimly at me. "And… a few fading heat-signatures."

"People are dying?" Prim asked, looking anxiously at Peeta.

"People are _dead_ ," Johanna corrected grimly as she adjusted her grip on her axe. "Any sign any of the others are in that kinda state?"

"No," Peeta said after a moment's pause as he raised one hand to the side of his helmet; there weren't any actual physical controls there, but it seemed to make Peeta feel better if his hands were doing something when his helmet gave him information. "As far as the suit can tell, everyone still alive in there is battered, but they'll recover."

"And everything's human?" Finnick asked. "None of those… Chitake things Captain Rogers told us about?"

"They were called the Chitauri," I corrected the self-titled Mariner.

"And they're not here," Peeta confirmed. "No sign of anything in there that wasn't human, and the suit isn't alerting me to any trace of alien technology; whatever this thing is, it was made on Earth."

"OK," I said, nodding in thought for a moment before voicing my decision. "Peeta, once we land, you're with me; we need to find the survivors and get them out as fast as possible. Johanna, see what you can do about clearing away this debris; we might be able to use it for something in the future. Finnick, help Prim set up an emergency triage centre here; we're probably going to be dealing with serious injuries if we do find any survivors, so we need to be able to treat the worst of the injuries here."

It was a credit to how we'd developed as a team that nobody questioned my division of labour. On the surface, it might have made more sense to have Peeta and Johanna switch roles, given the physical strength of the Iron Man armour, but the armour's sensors would be better equipped at finding survivors inside the debris, while Johanna's axe and metal arm would make it easier for her to clear things up from outside.

"Coming in for landing," Finnick said as he manoeuvred the hovercraft into position near the crash-site, setting it down on the ground as he quickly checked the ship's sensors. "OK, environmental checks confirm no radiation in the area or anything toxic in the atmosphere. It looks like the ship came down cleanly enough, no sign of any hostile activity in the area… shall we see what's going on here?"

"Agreed," I said, standing up to look over at Peeta. "Let's go."

Nodding in agreement, Peeta reached over to take hold of the shield strapped to my back and flew out of the opening hovercraft door, quickly moving into position above the crashed object.

"Where to?" Peeta asked, glancing down at me as I dangled from his left hand.

"There," I said at last, indicating a particularly large hole on the end of a circle. Peeta dived forward for a few moments before landing inside the circle, revealing that we were on the edge of a circular corridor that extended further into the structure.

"Right," I said, checking that my bow and arrows were still secure on my back before I indicated the corridor ahead of us. "Let's go."

As we started walking- Peeta moving at a slower pace due to the weight of the armour and the need to avoid putting too much strain on the damaged ship- I appreciated the casual camaraderie that had developed between Peeta and I by this time. He had confirmed that he still had feelings for me more than once, but he had also accepted my own decision that this wasn't the best time to pursue any kind of relationship on top of our current responsibilities as Avengers.

I was coming to recognise the value of Peeta's optimism and compassion as opposed to Gale's earlier desires to just kill anyone working for the Capitol, but I still wasn't ready to fully explore what I could have with him when I was still trying to adjust to my role as leader of the new Avengers. For the moment, my priorities were to make sure that the nation we had rebuilt didn't fall back into old habits simply because it was convenient, and I just didn't have the time for anything else…

After a few minutes of walking through the shattered satellite, navigating carefully up ladders and walking along corridors leading further into the satellite, while trying not to think too much about some of the bleeding piles of debris I saw down some of the corridors, the two of us finally found a survivor down a side corridor. She was an Asian-looking woman with shoulder-length dark hair dressed in a dark leather outfit that reminded me slightly of what I wore in the Seventy-Fourth Games, one leg trapped under a metal bar that had fallen from the roof but otherwise in fairly good condition.

"There," Peeta said, indicating the woman at the same time as I saw her. "She's-"

"I see her," I said, hurrying over to the woman as Peeta followed behind me at a more gradual pace.

"It's OK; we'll get you out of here," I said, crouching down beside the woman to look reassuringly at her. "I'm Mockingjay, and this is my colleague, Ir-"

"I… Iron Man?" the woman interrupted, looking at Peeta in shock as he walked up behind me.

"You've heard of th- me?" Peeta corrected himself, as he lifted the bar off her leg and tossed it to the side.

"I… well, we read all about the Avengers in our histories of Earth…" the woman said, wincing as she tried to move her leg before I reached down to pick her up. "But… I mean, they all died… the Avengers failed…"

"The Avengers _fell_ ," I corrected, looking firmly at the other woman; I might have only known them for a brief time, but I was satisfied that the Avengers had done everything they could to save Earth before Bruce went insane. "As far as I'm concerned, the only reason they _didn't_ save the world before is because they were weakened while they were alone; as a team, they couldn't be stopped."

"Believe me, you do _not_ want to insult the Avengers in her presence," Peeta said, sounding like he was grinning under the mask as he stared around before he nodded back at me. "Nobody else in this section; I'll check out some of the other areas while you get her out of here."

Nodding in agreement, I began to lead our new patient back down the ladders that would take us out of the crashed ship, leaving Peeta to proceed further into the structure.

"Why was this area so empty?" I asked, looking curiously at our new patient once we'd reached the bottom of the ladders.

"I was… hiding," the woman explained, looking slightly sheepish as she looked at me. "There was some… political tension back on the Ark; I thought it was best if I stayed… underground… for a while… and I ended up here."

"Ah," I said, nodding in understanding even as I privately rolled my eyes at this news; evidently, even people from space couldn't escape political strife. "So, what's your name?"

"I'm… Callie Cartwig," the woman said, before she looked at me with new curiosity. "How did you… I mean, _Iron Man_ … I mean, it's been _centuries_ …"

"Which is why we felt it was time to get back into action," I said, smiling warmly at the other woman. "How we found that armour is a long and complicated story; we can worry about that later."

"Of… of course," Callie said, looking uncertain for a moment before her face softened in understanding. "Right… that's just someone else _in_ Tony Stark's armour, right?"

"Some of us took the original Avengers as our inspiration, and others just worked with what they already had to come up with new ideas," I explained, reminding myself to keep smiling as we walked; considering what had happened to her, showing this woman a friendly face had to help.

"Like you?" Callie asked.

"Like me," I confirmed. "Like I said, I'm Mockingjay; I'm the leader of the Avengers… and right now I have some questions for you."

"Such as?" Callie asked, looking at me with new curiosity.

"What actually _happened_ here?" I asked, indicating the shattered construction around us. "I mean, this was obviously some kind of satellite, but you're the third major planetfall incident we've experienced in the last few months; where did you all come from?"

"We had to… fragment the Ark," Callie explained, leaning on my shoulder as we continued towards the daylight; judging by the way she was wincing as we walked, she'd sustained some damage to her leg from that bar. "Only way… to get down…"

"The Ark?" I repeated curiously. "You mentioned that before; what's that?"

"It… _was_ a space station," Callie explained, smiling slightly as I looked at her in confusion. "Almost a century ago, when the wars became serious… twelve space stations came together with thousands of satellites… and put themselves together to create the Ark."

"Really?" I said, impressed despite my limited knowledge of space travel. Even since I'd become an Avenger, I'd spent too much time focusing on Panem's problems and my own training to think about what might be up in space, but the scenario that Callie described _was_ fairly impressive…

"So… the Ark crashed?" I asked, indicating the debris around us as we approached the hole that Peeta and I had used to enter the building originally. "What happened?"

"Our life support systems were running out," Callie explained, her expression grim. "We had to find out if Earth was survivable…"

"You should probably leave it at that," I said, as we finally reached the hole and I drew my bow once again. "Considering what I've heard so far, I think it would be easier if you told this story to my whole team once we've picked up the rest of the survivors."

"Of… of course," Callie said, as I fired a grappling arrow at a protruding chunk of metal above us, leaving a long cable dangling from below it that we could use to return to the ground.

"Come on," I said, indicating the cable to Callie with a smile before I pointed out the hovercraft a short walk away. "Once you reach the ground, just head over there and you'll meet more of my team; Black Widow will give you a check-over and Mariner can fill you in on some of the essentials of events down here before the rest of us get back."

Callie seemed a bit surprised at these instructions, but she nodded in acceptance as she began to climb down the cable, leaving me to turn back into the remnants of the Ark to search for whatever other survivors might be left.

From what Callie had told me, it didn't sound like the Ark was going to be a threat, but I had a feeling that its arrival was going to make things a bit more complicated for us than they had been so far…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More details about the exact history of ‘The 100’ will be provided later, but for the purposes of this story, all of Season One of 'The 100' happened as it did in the show, and things will start to diverge from early in Season Two onwards. That said, I should clarify in advance that the revelations and events f the fourth season and onwards definitely will NOT happen here, in terms of the whole 'nuclear reactor meltdown apocalypse' storyline. Snow/the Maestro might have been an arrogant asshole, but he wasn't crazy enough to want humanity to be completely destroyed by that kind of nuclear fallout- even if that was mainly because he wanted to have people to rule over- so he made it a priority to keep the plants in good condition and shut them down before they could become dangerous.
> 
> On a geographical note, as previously mentioned, all prior impacts to Earth occurred on the east coast of America, which is in keeping with the events of 'The 100', where the original dropship landed around Mount Weather; one episode even featured a glimpse of the statue of Abraham Lincoln. As the Maestro ignored the east coast after he destroyed New York and Washington, he never knew that there had been any survivors in that area and so they've been allowed to develop at their own pace outside of the influence of Panem.


	3. Life in Orbit

After an hour or so spent searching the crashed fragment of the Ark, all five of us were satisfied that we had retrieved the only survivors of the crash. We had discovered quite a few bodies near the damaged components of the Ark, but Peeta's initial assessment that there were only a few survivors had been correct.

The few survivors we'd discovered had been near the centre of the structure, which at least explained how they had survived the crash, but none of them had been in any condition to answer our questions about what had happened, most of them suffering from broken limbs and varying stages of shock. Once Peeta and I had taken them back to the hovercraft, Prim had sedated most of them to give her time to conduct a more thorough examination, confirming that they had all suffered from various concussions as well as assorted broken bones in the impact. Based on the location where we'd found Callie compared to the other casualties, I guessed that she had been lucky enough to be near to the centre of the satellite, and had subsequently been cushioned from the worst of the damage by virtually everything else around her.

After the rest of us had returned from conducting our assessment of the satellite, Prim and Finnick had carried out a few tests on our patients and confirmed that everyone we'd rescued would recover eventually. However, they would need at least a couple of weeks in a medical facility to get back to full health, leaving us with Callie as our best source for answers about what we were dealing with. If the hovercraft's communication system had allowed it, I would have tried to arrange for Steve to participate in this conference, but radios just seemed too impersonal and we didn't have a videophone installed yet, so I had decided to get some answers now and relay the situation to my mentor in person later. Having sent a brief message to Steve to explain what we'd discovered, along with assurances that I'd give him the full story when we rendezvoused at the Avengers compound, I set the hovercraft's autopilot to take us home before I turned around to look at Callie with the rest of my team.

"Right," I said, looking at the older woman while trying to present myself as in control of the situation; this might be the first time in almost two years that I was talking with someone who didn't know who I was and what I'd done, but I had introduced myself as an Avenger to someone who knew what _that_ meant, and I was going to live up to those responsibilities. "We're on our way back to base, and the rest of your crew have been given what treatment we can provide right now; any chance you could fill us in on where you all actually _came_ from?"

"OK," Callie said, looking around at the five of us, paying particular attention to Peeta now that he'd removed his helmet, before she smiled and laughed softly. "I'm sorry, it's just… I grew up reading stories about the original Avengers and thinking that Earth had been uninhabitable for almost a hundred years, and now…"

"Almost a hundred?" Johanna repeated, looking sceptically between Callie and me. "I thought the old guy said everything fell apart over _two_ hundred years ago?"

"He said that the _Avengers_ fell over two centuries ago, Bloodaxe," I corrected her. "We can't forget that it wasn't as simple as one big conflict that shattered what civilisation existed before and Panem rose from whatever was left over all at once; we're doing our best, but there hasn't exactly been enough historical material available for anyone to be sure what happened between then and now."

"Fair point," Finnick nodded.

"So… you're thinking that the war that was originally triggered by Snow started off the events that devastated what came before, and then there were various other conflicts that led to… us?" Peeta asked.

"Pretty much," I agreed, before I turned back to look at Callie. "Sorry about that, Miss Cartig; as you probably guessed, our history books have a few gaps we're still trying to fill in…"

"Don't worry about it; it's… fascinating," Callie said, smiling slightly at me before she adopted a more curious expression. "If you don't mind me asking… who's the 'old guy'?"

"The historian and tactical consultant of District Thirteen," I replied simply; Steve's history was his own secret to share, and I wasn't going to tell it before he was here to fill in the details himself. "You'll meet him later; in the meantime, please continue your story."

"Well," Callie explained, looking awkwardly around the room as she spoke, "the exact details of our history aren't entirely clear even now- a lot of people argue that some of the public stories were just edited to make them more 'kid-friendly'- but the end result is that, some time after the start of the last major war over a century ago, twelve major satellites in orbit around Earth were able to come together as a single vast space station in order to increase our chances of long-term survival. We were able to form a government and some kind of society and culture despite our limitations, and over the next few decades, we made… well, an existence up in space."

"You survived that long in space?" Prim said, looking at Callie in awe. "Wow…"

"Tell me about it; you people deserve points for not just going nuts for being stuck together for that long," Johanna mused with a slight smile.

"Unfortunately, it wasn't that simple," Callie explained, her expression becoming grimmer as she continued. "In the last few years, limited resources on the Ark have required us to… well, we've adopted more stringent measures of population control. Under our rules, families were only allowed to have one child at a time, and any breach of regulations resulted in those who broke the rules being… well, they were floated."

"Floated?" Prim repeated.

"We put them in the airlocks and… and then we opened the doors," Callie said.

The five of us could only stare at that statement.

"And that was for _everything_?" Prim asked, looking at Callie in shock. "If someone just… I don't know, took some food because they were so hungry-"

"No exceptions," Callie said firmly. "As I said, our resources were limited-"

"So you basically put all your criminals out into space for even minor infractions," Peeta said, staring grimly at the woman we'd just met.

"Only when they were over eighteen; children who broke the law were given a chance to appeal when they-" Callie began.

"And how many people actually got let off?" Johanna asked, glaring at the woman. "How do you justify that crap-?"

"Our life support systems were running out."

The simplicity of that statement was all that we needed to be sure that Callie wasn't lying to us.

"And by life support…" I began, taking a moment to be sure that I remembered everything Steve had told me about the conditions up in space. "You mean… the Ark was losing the ability to provide oxygen?"

"Exactly," Callie said grimly. "Jake Griffin, our chief engineer and the husband of a member of our ruling council, confirmed that the Ark's life support systems were starting to fail a few months ago, but at the time the discovery was covered up as it was believed that it would incite riots and mass panic when we didn't have any viable solution to the problem. He was floated before he could reveal that information to the general population, but the council knew that it was only a matter of time until we ran out; even our best estimates showed that it would take more oxygen than we had left to repair the system to the extent that it could continue to sustain us."

"A real catch-22, huh?" Finnick smiled.

"What?" Prim asked.

"It's a phrase from one of the old guy's books," Finnick explained, smiling at my sister. "It's meant to describe a situation where there's literally no way to get out of something; the example given was that a soldier couldn't avoid participating in a suicide mission by claiming that he was insane as only a crazy person would do something like that, and he couldn't get out of it by claiming to be stable as the leaders had a duty to send a stable mind into that kind of situation."

"Ah," Prim said.

"Not a bad analogy, anyway," Johanna noted before she looked back at Callie. "So you needed more oxygen to repair the system, but you couldn't get that oxygen in time; what did you do?"

"We took around a hundred juvenile prisoners from the detention centre and sent them all down to Earth in a small dropship," Callie said.

I blinked.

"Excuse me?" I said, voicing the thoughts of my fellow Avengers as I looked at Callie. "I thought you said that you believed Earth was _uninhabitable_?"

"We didn't have a choice," Callie said defensively. "With our limited resources, those children were probably going to die anyway once the time came to re-evaluate their sentence; at least this way we could give them a chance at life and increase our own oxygen reserves at the same time."

I decided not to respond to that comment. Personally, however they had justified it to themselves, it sounded to me like the Ark had just decided to kill two birds with one stone by getting rid of a group of children they'd practically judged and sentenced already, but getting into an argument wouldn't help us learn what had happened more recently.

"So… I'm guessing that the original dropship with those delinquents was the first impact we detected, a few months back, correct?" I asked, looking curiously at Callie.

"Probably," Callie confirmed. "A friend of mine sent down a mechanic in a small pod a few weeks later to help the kids establish radio contact with the Ark, but… well, they weren't in time to stop us culling over three hundred people from the remaining population."

"'Culling'?" Johanna, Finnick and Prim said simultaneously, Prim clearly horrified at the statement while my fellow Victors were glaring at Callie.

"You just killed three _hundred_ people-?" Johanna began.

"They volunteered," Callie interjected, her tone grim as she looked around at us. "We were strapped for options and honestly thought that Earth wasn't survivable, so we posted an announcement about the situation so that people could make a choice about whether they would sacrifice themselves or not… it just took slightly too long for the children to get in touch with us in time."

"Bad equipment, huh?" Peeta said, shrugging to try and lighten the awkward mood when faced with Callie's evident grief at the memory.

"To say the least," Callie said solemnly, before she continued. "As it turned out, there was a native tribe living in the area where the dropship had landed; the kids had taken to calling this tribe 'Grounders', and had already had a couple of close calls with them before we made contact. Doctor Griffin was able to offer some advice on treating some injuries that they'd sustained in their earlier encounters, but when we were planning how to get down…"

"Problems arose?" Finnick asked, looking grimly at our new acquaintance.

"To say the least," Callie said grimly. "To cut a long story short, Diana Sydney, one of the councillors, had spent some time representing herself as a voice of our 'working class' so that she and her followers could take control of our remaining dropships, leaving the rest of us to die-"

"How many could you have saved?" I interrupted.

"All our dropships together could only save around a quarter of the remaining population of the Ark," Callie clarified grimly, before she sighed in frustration. "And the damn coup didn't even work; Sydney's forces got control of the dropship, but it wasn't properly disconnected from the Ark before it was launched, and as a result, not only did it crash-land, but the Ark's remaining power supply took serious damage."

"Let me guess," Johanna said grimly. "You lost every last dropship and life support was now _completely_ screwed?"

"That's almost being generous," Callie acknowledged. "We were down to around half the population we'd had when we sent down the first dropship, but with all our resources exhausted and life support on its last dregs of power… the only way down now was to use the Ark itself and hope we'd survive."

"How?" Peeta asked, the nurtured engineer in him curious about the science of Callie's story despite our knowledge of the personal costs.

"Chancellor Thelonius Jaha realised that it could be possible for us to land by using the Ark itself as a dropship," Callie explained. "As I said, the Ark was originally composed of twelve different satellites that came together to increase our chances of survival; Chancellor Jaha concluded that we could reactivate the old thrusters and push the Ark back into Earth's atmosphere while we used the various satellites to land once again."

"Bit of a risky manoeuvre, surely?" Finnick asked. "I mean, I doubt those things were _designed_ to land…"

"We knew when we started the procedure that only a few of us would actually make it to the ground," Callie said grimly. "Hell, I was already fairly sure that my allocated section was one of the ones that would just crash and burn… but I had to stay hidden for various reasons."

"You were hiding?" Finnick asked. "Why?"

"I was a close friend of Doctor Abigail Griffin, Jake Griffin's wife," Callie explained. "After her daughter was one of the children sent to the ground in the initial dropship, we realised that some of the council were more interested in keeping humanity alive even if it meant having to sacrifice hundreds of _people_ without giving them a choice, so… well, the man I was involved with at the time was one of the main proponents of that plan…"

"So you thought it was best to drop out and work out what to do in private," I said, looking thoughtfully at our new acquaintance for a moment before I shrugged. "Well, I've tried to do that myself once or twice; we all make poor decisions sometimes."

Callie nodded at me in grateful understanding, before she sighed and looked around the hovercraft at the rest of us.

"Well, that's my story," she said. "We spent almost a century in space trying to survive and prepare for our return to Earth, but it cost us most of our people just to make sure that _anyone_ managed to get down, and we started a war with the first people we met…"

"Talking of that war… seriously, how could we not have known about _any_ of this?" Peeta asked, looking at the rest of the team in shock. "I mean, we've been active for _months_ … and all this was going on just a short distance from us?"

"We never looked at the east coast," Johanna said, her tone bitter as she looked over at the armoured Avenger. "We've been too busy rebuilding Panem for the last few months, and Snow probably figured it wasn't worth looking around here because he was certain everyone was dead…"

"It would fit," I noted, nodding in acknowledgement of Johanna's assessment. "Steve told me once that the east coast was the location of two of the most major cities in America when the wars began; Snow would have made it his priority to bomb an area like that, or at least make sure that they were destroyed, before he made his own move."

"Snow?" Callie asked.

"The adversary that brought us together," I clarified, looking back at her with a grim stare. "He was a superhuman psychopath who thought he had the right to take control of the planet because of what had been done to him in the past, and had spent most of the last century posing as a discreet ruling family; once we learned the truth, we managed to destroy him in our debut battle."

"Ah," Callie said, before she looked at me more curiously. "You haven't been a team that long?"

"We're good, but we've only been in action for a few months," Peeta said, looking solemnly at Callie. "If you'd like, I can fill you in on what's been happening on Earth from _our_ perspective?"

As Callie nodded in agreement, I turned back to the hovercraft controls while Peeta walked over to a corner of the room to explain Earth's history to Callie.

I wasn't worried that he'd reveal anything he shouldn't to her- Peeta might have been the last of the 'field team' to be recruited, but I knew that Peeta understood the value of the Avengers better than Finnick or Johanna- but I had to wonder how Callie would react to our own perspective on what Earth had become since the creation of the Ark…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To those fans of 'The 100', hope you didn't mind the info-dump, and I can assure you that we will be returning to some of the more familiar characters soon.


	4. Planning the Search

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies in advance to Gale fans, but I just don't feel comfortable with the thought of him becoming an Avenger given his attitude in 'Mockingjay', so I included a certain scene in this chapter as a means of addressing that issue

Telling Callie about the events that had taken place in Panem over the last few decades had simultaneously been easier and harder than it had been to tell the story to the Avengers. In some ways, it had been easier to tell the Avengers what had happened to the world when I first met them as the only thing I'd known about them at the time had been Steve's second-hand stories, whereas I had a clearer idea of what challenges Callie and her people had overcome and felt as though we'd let them down by allowing the Games to happen after we'd risen from the ashes of what came before.

On the other hand, when dealing with someone who'd lived most of her life thinking that Earth had been almost completely destroyed by humanity, Callie seemed to be more focused on being impressed by what we'd accomplished rather than criticising what we hadn't managed to achieve. She had been fascinated to learn about some of the discoveries and technological developments we'd made over the years, along with the essential details of our confrontation with the Maestro (I'd made the choice to omit the fact that he was originally Bruce Banner and the fact that we'd had the aid of the original Avengers; I didn't want to reveal that time travel was possible in case people started making awkward demands). While Peeta and I told Callie our own story, Johanna and Prim transmitted a brief summary of Callie's own background to Steve while Finnick took the controls; the autopilot was good for getting around, but the ship needed a live hand at the controls to make real progress.

"This is your base?" Callie said, looking around the Avengers compound with a smile as we finally reached our destination, Finnick giving her a good view as he brought us in for landing. "It's a… well…"

"You can say it; it's basic," Johanna said, flexing her mechanical arm as she stood up to stare at our compound. The whole facility mainly consisted of a few buildings that Steve had compared to something called 'pre-fabricated housing', which were basically walls set up to act as easy-to-assemble houses, but all had been reinforced to cope with the training we'd be carrying out inside the buildings, along with one particularly secure building where Peeta kept and worked on the Iron Man armour when he wasn't using it. Our residences were all a short distance away from the main compound, hidden in the forest around us; we'd wanted to give our homes a chance to escape if anyone ever decided to attack us where we lived, as well as allowing Annie and my mother to work in private as the Avengers trained.

"Well, compared to the stories I've heard of Avengers Tower, I think there are a lot of things that could be considered 'basic'," Callie smiled, before she looked more thoughtfully at me. "So you destroyed a ruthless dictator… and then you retreated all the way out here?"

"We came here for privacy and security," Finnick corrected, setting the automatic landing sequence as he turned to face her directly. "Like the original team, we have no interest in taking charge of anything; we're just here to help the world get back on its feet so that they have a chance to build something better, so we need to have somewhere to go when people aren't making demands of us or when we aren't needed to kick ass."

"Of course," Callie said, before frowning as she looked back at me. "How do you… _know_ about the original Avengers, anyway? I mean, if this President Snow was such a powerful man, I can't see someone like that letting the stories about them survive this long…"

"He did his best," I said, glancing briefly out of the window as we reached the ground. "But we had a few allies he wasn't expecting, like this man right here."

Callie was about to ask who I was referring to when the hovercraft touched down and Finnick opened the door, leaving us free to file out of the ship as Steve walked up towards us, a pair of black gloves hiding his artificial hand.

"Good to see you all," he said, nodding in approval as he took in the team. "I've read Bloodaxe and Widow's report; you should be proud of what you've accomplished out there."

"We do our best," Johanna said, grinning as she tossed a half-mocking, half-serious salute in Steve's direction. "How's tricks at this end anyway?"

"Destined to get interesting soon, I have no doubt," Steve replied, his expression grim as he looked at Johanna before walking up to Callie with a more casual smile. "Miss Cartig, I'm Steve Rogers; it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Uh… pleasure to meet- _Rogers_?" Callie said, yanking her hand away as she stared at the old man in shock. "As in… but you can't… he'd be… you're not-"

"Captain America?" I finished for her, smiling at her new acquaintance in understanding. "Believe me, I was as shocked to learn his age as you were, but he's telling the truth."

"It's a combination of the super-soldier serum, various artificial organs, and another long period in suspended animation while a friend tried to save my life," Steve explained, shrugging slightly as Callie looked at him in shock. "As you probably guessed, I was the one to bring this little group together when I felt that the time was right for the Avengers to return to the world, but Mockingjay here serves as the field commander; I'm… not exactly qualified to be out in the field any more."

"Right…" Callie said, looking at Steve in stunned silence before she looked back at me. "He's the… ally you just mentioned, right?"

"One of them, but the only one that really matters right now," I confirmed. "Steve convinced a few other people to let us come together as a group, but after Snow was dealt with, most people are pretty much content to leave us alone so long as we keep helping out."

"It's mostly just clean-up at this point, but hey; whatever stops them starting up the Hunger Games again, right?" Johanna put in, smiling as she looked at her axe.

"Right…" Callie said, looking slightly apprehensively at the District Seven winner's weapon before looking at Steve. "So… what can I do for you?"

"Well, the team sent me a brief summary of your story on their way here, so I'm aware of the essential points of your history as you've revealed to us so far," Steve said, looking at Callie in a firm but reassuring manner; only my long experience with him over the past few months allowed me to notice the slight tension in his shoulders that hinted at his disapproval of what the Ark had done in the name of survival. "Based on the reports your station received from the children on the ground, what did they have to tell you about these… Grounders… in terms of their weapons capabilities?"

"The general impression was that they're… well, a bit primitive, to be blunt," Callie explained. "We never heard reports that they had anything more advanced than swords, bows and arrows, but their main advantage lay in their sheer weight of numbers compared to the children, as well as their obviously greater experience at living here."

"OK, so we're just dealing with big numbers rather than big guns; I can work with that," Johanna said, swinging her axe as she grinned at the thought of the upcoming challenge. "That should be interesting…"

"We're not going to attack anyone until we've tried to find a diplomatic solution," Steve said firmly. "Believe me, Bloodaxe, I understand wanting to make sure nobody picks up where Snow left off, but so far nothing we've heard suggests that there's anything more going on with these 'Grounders' than isolated locals reacting to a perceived attack on their territory, so there might be a way to solve this that _doesn't_ involve killing everyone in that area who didn't come from the Ark."

With his point made, Steve stared firmly at Johanna for a moment before he turned back to talk to Callie. "From what you've told us, I'm guessing that you obviously had minimal control over where anything actually landed, but I suppose you have at least some idea where the children would be?"

"Well… we were trying to set them down near an old military base," Callie said, after a moment's pause for thought. "Like I said, we didn't know _what_ Earth would be like, so we'd hoped that if they could reach Mount Weather, they could use the supplies they found there to support themselves…"

"Mount Weather?" Steve repeated, looking at Callie curiously. "You were trying to send them to the old base at Mount Weather?"

"Yes," Callie nodded, surprised at the sudden increased intensity in Steve's stare when he'd heard the name.

"Is that a problem?" Finnick asked, noting the slight tension in our mentor's manners.

"I'm not sure," Steve said, shaking his head uncertainly. "It _sounds_ familiar… I think Fury mentioned he was keeping something there once…"

He paused in thought for a moment before he shook his head. "Sorry; it's gone."

"Gone?" Prim asked.

"I mean that I can't remember why it was important, or if it ever was," Steve explained, looking apologetically over at my sister. "It's been a long life, after all; I can't be expected to remember everything."

"Any ideas?" I asked curiously.

"Apart from the fact that we need to do more research before I make a decision, nothing yet," Steve answered, before he turned to address the rest of us. "All right, we know what we're dealing with, and we know approximately where they were going; even if the children didn't make it to Mount Weather itself, we have to assume that they landed in the area."

"Exactly," Callie said, looking urgently at him. "We need to get going-"

"Not just yet," Steve said, looking apologetically at the other woman. "I appreciate your concern for your people, but these computers weren't built with detailed maps of that area, and the old networks have sustained too much damage over the years for me to just call up a map like that. Not only do we need to move the rest of your people to our medical facilities, but I'll need some time to access the satellite records of where the Ark fragments fell and then re-calculate Mount Weather's location; Beetee can help me with that, and he should be on his way soon enough."

"You called him already?" Peeta asked, looking at Steve in surprise.

"It's nothing to do with doubting your skills, Peeta; it's just easier to cut to the chase and get in our most experienced computer expert for something this complex," Steve said, looking reassuringly at Peeta before he turned to address the rest of us. "In the meantime, you five need to go over what we have so far and both prepare to deal with any potential problems while determining what to do about the rest of the Ark fragments; until further notice, the Ark is our priority."

"Hold on a moment; you're going to decide what to 'do' about us?" Callie asked, looking sharply at Steve. "We came here for _help_ -"

"And I'm not going to turn your people away, but I'm equally not going to just leave the future to chance," Steve explained. "As I'm sure Katniss has explained to you, we've been through a period of great social upheaval in the last few months, so if we're going to have a new wave of people suddenly arriving here, I'd like to make sure that nobody's going to do anything stupid, which means we need to find them as soon as possible."

"Exactly," Finnick said, looking reassuringly at Callie. "Trust me, we'd like to bring in some new faces to this mess too; we just need to make sure everything's under control."

Even if I didn't like having to treat refugees as a potential problem, I had to acknowledge my wider responsibilities as an Avenger; we just didn't have the resources to cope with a new wave of people and a new conflict if there was going to be any trouble…

* * *

As I walked into my room later that day, I had to admit that we were doing well. A quick visit to the infirmary confirmed that my mother was keeping an eye on the Ark residents and our new patients were all recovering well enough, and after today's training session, I felt fairly confident in thinking that, whatever else we were these days, the Avengers _were_ working out as a team.  
  
We might not have had to deal with any truly superhuman threats ever since the original Avengers had returned to their time, but I was concerned that it would only be a matter of time, which had prompted the creation of the training system we used most of the time. It generally relied on myself, Johanna, Finnick (and occasionally Prim; I wanted her kept out of combat but I had to acknowledge that she might end up in a fight some day) practising in a VR simulation similar to the technology used by the Capitol when preparing us for the Quarter Quell, pitting us against a wave of virtual opponents armed with only our standard weapons.  
  
However, we took care to include at least one additional 'practice bout' for the team each day, where Finnick, Johanna and I attempted to attack Peeta while he was wearing the armour, the older two Victors armed with long poles while I used a set of blunted arrows. With Peeta our strongest available member, we had concluded that this was the best way for us to practice our skills in the event of facing another superhuman opponent; the mock weapons helped to ensure that we didn't do any actual damage to the Iron Man armour with our real weaponry, but they were all equipped with small 'paintballs' on the business ends so that we could confirm where we'd struck Peeta after the fight was over. Peeta also kept his repulsors dialled down to their lowest possible level during the fights, allowing the blasts to be felt without actually hurting anyone, and only flew on a few rare occasions while otherwise fighting as though we were all restricted to ground level, but it was generally an excellent method of getting in some extra practise.  
  
Of course, Thor taught us a few extra tricks when he came down to assist us in our latest missions, and I liked to think that he'd be there if we ever really needed him, but at the same time, I had to remind myself that he was a king of his own realm and couldn't really afford to spend too much time here on Earth if he wasn't _needed_.  
  
Glancing at my inbox, I was slightly disappointed to see that Steve didn't have any real updates for us on the Ark situation, but I wasn't entirely surprised to see another new message from Gale.  
  
Of everything I'd accomplished since Steve asked me to be an Avenger, the only thing I regretted was the loss of my friendship with Gale. He'd become a member of the new Peacekeepers after most of Snow's appointed leaders had been forced out, the new group working to keep the peace in each district by rotating from one to the other on a monthly basis with holidays home if requested for special occasions. Gale enjoyed the work and the chance to see other Districts, but he seemed to be convinced that he could do more, sending me messages asking if he could be 'assigned' to the Avengers every other week.  
  
Despite our long history, I had repeatedly told him that it wasn't going to happen; he might be a strong fighter, but he just didn't…  
  
I was ashamed to admit it even to myself, but in the end, despite all that he'd done for me over the years, I'd come to realise that Gale didn't _deserve_ to be an Avenger.  
  
I'd once asked Steve why he'd consented to let Johanna stay on as an Avenger after our first assault when she and Gale had similar temper issues when it came to the Capitol and Gale had been 'disqualified' due to his anger. Steve had explained his decision as the result of his belief that Gale's problem lay more in the fact that he was just angry at everything the Capitol represented, where Johanna had focused her anger on Snow and the agents responsible for killing her family, and actually seemed to be happier now that Snow was gone.  
  
Gale might be a trained Peacekeeper now, but every time I met him I could still see traces of that old anger burning inside him, wanting to lash out at the Capitol that had kept the Districts in chains for so long…  
  
I was ashamed to admit it, but every time I learned which District Gale was working in now, I kept an eye on the news from that area in case of reports of Peacekeeper brutality. It wasn't that I didn't trust Gale, it was just… I just wasn't sure if I could trust his anger to stay focused.  
  
In the end, as Steve had said to me during our first conversation on the subject of Gale, Gale only wanted to join us so that he could keep killing the enemy; Johanna was on the team because she wanted to ensure that the kind of people who had risen to power under Snow would never have a similar opportunity. I doubted I'd ever be comfortable with her choice of codename, but I could appreciate the fact that she didn't just go out there swinging the axe; whenever we got into a fight, Johanna always seemed to focus on finding the soldiers who clearly enjoyed their work before going into action herself.  
  
As much as I wanted to believe in my former partner, I couldn't shake the fear that if I had put Gale in a similar position, he would have just dived in and killed everyone because they had been working with Snow.  
  
Right now, however, I had bigger things to worry about than my more distant relationship with Gale. Beetee had dropped in on our training session to confirm that he'd arrived, but since then there hadn't been any sign of activity from him or Steve, even if the lights in our facility's monitoring room confirmed that someone was active in that building. After I was satisfied that we'd trained as much as we could without starting to just push ourselves to exhaustion, I'd called the session off for the night; if Beetee and Steve were still working on things this late, I had to assume that they'd have enough respect for us to give us the chance to rest unless something really urgent came up.  
  
Considering how late it was now, I was fairly sure that we wouldn't be called on unless something urgent came up, which meant that I was going to take the opportunity to focus on nothing more important than having a good few hours of sleep. Shrugging off my uniform, I collapsed onto my bed, sighing in relief as I wrapped the covers around me.  
  
We might be dealing with a complex visit from outer space, but right now, I was just going to have some rest…

* * *

The next morning, after a decent night's sleep, the five of us gathered in the facility's main observation area alongside Callie, as Steve and Beetee revealed the results of the previous night's search.  
  
"So… Mount Weather's active?" Callie said, looking at Steve and Beetee in surprise at their news. "The kids made it-?"  
  
"We can't say," Beetee said.  
  
"Why not?" Finnick asked. "I mean, if the base is active and you haven't heard from it before now, must be because someone just got there, right?"  
  
"Unfortunately, that's not the case; while we can't hack the database in depth at this distance, I _was_ able to access the facility's activity records," Beetee explained, looking grimly at his fellow former Victor. "There's definitely something in Mount Weather, but it can't be the kids Callie's people sent down; what I _have_ been able to access confirms that Mount Weather's been active for at least the last year or so, and Callie confirmed that the dropship with the children only arrived here a couple of months ago."  
  
"Which means that there's someone _else_ out there we need to find out more about," Peeta said grimly.  
  
"Precisely," Steve confirmed. "Even before the cataclysm, I'd be concerned about this situation; as it is, the idea that someone's been operating in a supposedly abandoned military base for the last century or so, with full access to nuclear weapons and no signs that they're aware of or interested in contacting the rest of the world…"  
  
"We have to assume the worst?" I asked.  
  
"And find out what's going on in there as soon as possible," Steve said, his tone grimmer than before at my assessment of the situation. "We've already dismantled most of the existing nuclear weapons stockpile; I'd rather not have to worry about some unknown group possessing that kind of firepower when we know nothing about them, and then there's the issue of contacting the rest of the Ark to think about."  
  
"So, we thinking of paying these guys a full-frontal visit to 'explain' the situation, eh?" Johanna smiled, reaching over to pick up Jarnbjorn and give it a twirl in her artificial hand. "I can go with that-"  
  
"Only a small team at first," Steve corrected, glaring over at the self-titled Bloodaxe. "We have theories, but we don't _know_ what the situation is over there, and I'd rather not send the whole team in until I know they're needed."  
  
"In other words… we want to make a direct impression without looking like we want to start a fight?" Peeta asked uncertainly.  
  
"Precisely," Steve said, before he turned to look at me. "Katniss, take Peeta, get your equipment, and prepare a hovercraft for departure; I'll join you soon-"  
  
" _You're_ going with them?" Finnick said, looking at Steve in surprise. "I thought you said you were-"  
  
"Normally, you'd be right, but since we're investigating an old military base, if there's anything in there, I'm the person best qualified to find our way around it," Steve said firmly. "If we had more intel and Prim had more training, I'd suggest that we take her as well, but as it stands neither of those conditions apply, so I'm taking out our current powerhouse and our leader to demonstrate our capabilities."  
  
"Sounds like a plan," I nodded at Steve in approval, smiling slightly as I noticed Peeta's brief discomfort at being referred to as a 'powerhouse'. He might not have been qualified to be an Avenger on his own merits, but Steve and I both agreed that he had been the right choice to 'inherit' the armour after Tony left, as his own fear of the power he now possessed would stop him from ever abusing it.  
  
I just had to wonder what we'd find when we got there…


	5. Avenging the Ground and Sky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter marks a shift from the existing POV, as we shift to the events of 'The 100'. For fans of the show, this section diverges from canon around the beginning of the episode "Many Happy Returns", focusing on Anya and Clarke's escape, so anything that happened prior to the events depicted here was the same as in canon, with certain exceptions that will be explored later. For those who haven't seen the show, I'll try and cover the essential details of the first season or so before we get into the main action; hope you like the results.

Ever since she had been removed from her cell and told that she was being sent to Earth, nothing had unfolded exactly as Clarke Griffin had expected. Aside from the personal revelation that her father had died because her mother had betrayed him, she'd lost Wells before she could even decide if she'd forgive him for lying to her, she had that whole mess with Finn before Raven arrived, her attempt to negotiate for peace had fallen apart because some people had itchy trigger fingers, and then, just when it seemed like they'd found allies, she'd found out that the residents of Mount Weather were draining the Grounders to sustain themselves.

Even now, Clarke wasn't entirely sure why she'd chosen to save Anya and escape rather than just accept the status quo as the grounders getting their 'just deserts', but she wouldn't change what she'd done; nobody deserved what they were going through, and she couldn't be sure if her people were the next 'targets' for the mountain's experiments if they stayed there for too long.

She might have grown out of her old days of hero-worship based on Callie's old stories, but the principles that those old champions had lived by remained with her; whatever else Anya had done, nobody deserved what was happening in there, but Anya was the only person she could find who might have been willing to listen to her.

 _Like_ that _worked out the way I hoped_ , she mused, as another jerk on her arms reminded her of what had really happened. Just when she thought she'd been making progress with Anya after getting them both out of Mount Weather, the Grounder leader had knocked her out, tied her up, and was now forcibly leading her back to the Grounder 'commander' rather than consider the possibility that she might have something useful to contribute to this mess they were in at the moment.

What happened to the days when people just thanked you for saving their lives, rather than blaming you for everything?

"Anya," she said, trying to contain her indignation despite feeling like her arms were being yanked out of their sockets, "we've been walking for hours; where are we going?"

"Quiet," Anya said firmly, even as she continued to walk through the forest.

"Why not just kill me and get it over with?" Clarke asked; she was almost certainly going to be executed when they reached their destination, but she'd like to know why Anya was taking this long about it.

"You can tell the commander what the mountain men are doing to us in there -" Anya began.

"So let's work together," Clarke countered, tugging on the rope to bring Anya around to face her as she tried to make her point. "We don't have to be enemies."

"And unite with someone as weak as you?" Anya said scathingly. "I have what I need."

"Hey!" Clarke protested, deciding not to point out that she was the only reason Anya was even outside Mount Weather right now when she was trying to get the other woman on her side. "We both want the same thing."

Further conversation was cut off when Clarke saw a green light on Anya's chest, followed by Anya glancing over her shoulder and dragging them both to the ground as a dart hit a tree behind the spot where Anya had been standing.

"They found us," Anya said, grimly assessing the surrounding Mount Weather forces, clad in dark all-encompassing body-suits and carrying weapons. "Run."

With that command, Anya got back to her feet and began to run further into the trees, Clarke only just managing to grab the previously-fired dart from the tree where it had struck; it wouldn't be much of a weapon, but it would be one that nobody would expect her to have, and that was what mattered most right now.

Even after spending the last couple of months on the ground, it was still hard to keep up with Anya in their current circumstances. Clarke did her best to match Anya's pace and motions, even stepping where she stepped as best she could in case there was some trap or trick that she might have missed on her own, but she didn't need Anya to confirm that she had made a few mistakes. Admittedly, she was surprised and disturbed when Anya paused to insist that she and Clarke cover themselves with mud to increase their chances at avoiding detection, but she appreciated the intent behind the disguise; at least the Grounder leader wasn't planning to abandon her.

With their camouflage opportunities further improved by that 'disguise', they had continued their escape, but the guards had just continued to remain just a few crucial steps behind them, never actually seeing them but always able to keep up. Anya had led them on all kinds of complex trails as they made their escape, sometimes even risking doubling back on their path to confuse their opponents, but they still seemed to be just a short distance behind them no matter what the two young women did.

"How are they still following us?" Clarke asked, looking back at their pursuers incredulously as she and Anya paused at the top of a steep hill.

"Because of you," Anya said, panting as she reached over to pick up a nearby rock. "Time to end this-"

"Anya!" Clarke protested, raising her hands defensively while keeping her voice as low as she could despite her panic. "I'm stepping where you step, we're covered in mud; we're not leaving a trail."

"They're following something," Anya said, keeping a hold of the rock even as she didn't seem as inclined to use it now.

"They're not following us… they're _tracking_ us," Clarke realised, as a sudden thought came to her; she was fairly sure nobody had planted anything on her, but so far she hadn't had a real reason to check herself over. "Search yourself; if I'm right, it should feel like a… a small bump just under your skin."

Clarke was still checking her upper body when Anya suddenly pulled down one sleeve, revealing a small bump of twisted skin on her left forearm.

"It's you," Clarke said, as she and Anya exchanged glances before Clarke got down to business. "OK, I could remove it, but you need to untie my hands; I just need something sharp and sterile-"

Plans for an impromptu operation were cut short when Anya lunged forward and bit into her own arm, letting out a brief groan of pain before she raised her head and spat out what Clarke sincerely hoped was the tracker.

"I will not go back there," Anya said firmly.

"All right…" Clarke began, just as she heard something loud in the sky above them. Glancing up in apprehension of another Mount Weather weapon, Clarke saw what she initially thought was a missile heading right for their position, but then it zoomed past them and landed on the ground, half-way up the hill that Clarke and Anya had just climbed, revealing that it was actually a figure that Clarke had only ever seen in Callie's old history books.

The colour scheme wasn't an exact match, and it seemed slightly disjointed in a few places, as though parts had been cobbled together from other sources rather than assembled all at once, but if she wasn't looking at someone wearing the armour of Callie's personal hero, Clarke would eat her stolen dart.

"Hi there," a voice came from the Iron Man armour as he looked at the Mount Weather soldiers before him. "I don't suppose you'd care to explain what you're doing here?"

In response, the guards raised their guns and fired at the new arrival, only for the darts they fired to strike the strong red armour and fall to the ground uselessly.

"OK," the figure said, looking down at the fallen darts before he looked back at the guards. "Thanks for clarifying where you stand."

With those words, the man in the armour raised his hands and fired what Clarke could only describe as bursts of energy at his attackers, the blasts coming from the palms of his hands with such ease that Clarke couldn't believe what she was looking at. She barely had time to process that the attack had started before all four men were lying on the ground, still and unmoving, as the man in armour turned to look at them.

"Hi," he said, holding up his hands in what was probably intended as a calming gesture, but just made Anya tense beside Clarke as she looked at him. "OK, for the record, I know that this _probably_ looks bad, but I promise, I won't attack _you_ if you don't attack _me_ …"

"Who are-?" Anya began defensively.

"Are… are you _Iron Man_?" Clarke interjected, staring at the suit in shock as she finally managed to ask the most important question.

"You've heard of me, then?" the man in the armour asked, sounding like he was smiling as he turned to face her.

"Well, I've heard the stories… I always preferred Captain America…" Clarke admitted, suddenly feeling embarrassed to be discussing her childhood heroes with Anya right beside her.

"What are you talking about?" Anya asked, looking between Clarke and the man- _Iron Man_ \- in confusion. "Who is this man?"

"As your friend here just confirmed, I'm Iron Man," the man in the armour said, nodding briefly at Anya. "I'm one of a team we call 'the Avengers', tasked with protecting Earth from threats beyond the normal range of things; we've been a bit busy in our area before now, but we detected the Ark coming down-"

Clarke was saved from making any stupid responses to the revelation that the Avengers were still active in the present when there was a loud clanging sound from just behind her, prompting her and Anya to turn around to see a young woman dressed in black, standing up and sliding a shield over her right arm.

If Iron Man had been unexpected, this woman's appearance was just strange. The shield she carried was large and round with a pattern of contracting circles on it, but unlike the red-and-white pattern that Clarke had seen on Captain America's shield in Callie's book, this shield was painted in orange and black circles, with a symbol in the centre that looked like some kind of bird with a long thin beak and its wings spread. She was also dressed in what Clarke could only think of as some bizarre combination of armour and a bird costume, with white wing-like folds under the arms and a helmet that resembled a bird, although Clarke doubted from the style that the costume would actually be capable of real flight.

Looking up, Clarke tried not to stare at the sight of some kind of hovercraft silently waiting above them, an open hatch underneath it that seemed to be angled just right for the new arrival's position…

Had this woman just… jumped out of that hovercraft?

"What are you doing here?" Iron Man said, looking sharply at the woman. "I thought we agreed _I'd_ make first contact?"

"And we did, until I saw that the shooting had stopped and concluded that it was my responsibility as team leader to be on-site at a time like this as well," the young woman said, looking at Iron Man with a slight smile. "We've still got aerial support if things get ugly, but I thought it might be a good idea to get an on-sight assessment once your radio went down."

"What?" Iron Man said, before he raised one hand to the side of his helmet in realisation. "Oh yeah; must have been a lucky shot…"

"What provoked the attack?" the woman asked.

"I landed and said 'hi'," Iron Man said.

"Ah," the woman said, looking at the soldiers before she turned to smile at Anya and Clarke. "Hi there; call me Mockingjay."

"Mocking…jay?" Clarke repeated, looking at the woman in confusion.

"Oh, I'm with Iron Man on the Avengers; it's just that I decided to take on a new identity rather than take up an old one," the woman called Mockingjay explained.

"Who are you?" Anya said, looking sharply

"We were just heading to Mount Weather to see what was going on there when our hovercraft picked up your tracker signal; when we traced it back to its source and found two unarmed young women being chased by a group of men with guns, it didn't take a genius to work out who was the victim in that situation."

"We are _not_ -!" Anya began, before gunfire suddenly filled the air around them. Clarke barely had time to realise what was happening when Mockingjay stepped forward and forced her to the ground, her shield suddenly a barrier between them and the new wave of attackers as Clarke dragged Anya to the ground while Iron Man started to return fire.

"They're using _guns_?" Clarke said, looking at the new woman incredulously. "They were shooting tranquiliser darts earlier-"

"Which wouldn't do them much good against the kind of animals that can be out here," Mockingjay said grimly, keeping the shield up between them and the bullets. "If they were tracking you, I assume they just wanted to capture you; with us, they're going to want to take us out fairly quickly."

"Which won't- be- that- _easy_!" Iron Man yelled as he continued to fire back at the approaching guards, hurrying down the hill with loud clanking steps as he moved his arms rapidly around himself. From what Clarke could see around Mockingjay's shield and their current angle, the various forces from Mount Weather were mounting a spirited attack, but Iron Man was just taking aim and firing too quickly for them to get past him…

The sound of something coming up from the side prompted Clarke to turn around, her eyes widening in horror at the sight of three additional guards coming at them from the side. However, she had barely opened her mouth to warn her strange protector before the woman had practically shoved her shield into Clarke's hands, stood up, drawn a bow and arrow from her back, and started firing arrows even as the soldiers began to fire their guns.

Even after seeing the Grounders in action, Clarke had never considered a bow and arrow to be a particularly effective weapon compared to a gun, but Mockingjay's abilities quickly caused her to re-evaluate that thought. The woman had barely stood up before three arrows were in the chests of the three guards that had tried to take by surprise, and only one guard had managed to get any shots off before being taken down by the arrow to the heart.

Smiling in relief, Clarke turned to look at Anya, but her glee was replaced by shock as she noticed a rapidly-bleeding wound in the Grounder's side, where a bullet from the last attack must have struck.

" _Anya_!" she screamed, thoughts of the paradox of being this concerned for someone who'd been threatening her earlier forgotten in the face of the urgent desire for the Grounder not to die. The bullet itself wasn't that serious, but on top of all the blood that Anya must have lost during her time in the mountain, the blood loss she'd be suffering right now…

"They're down!" Mockingjay said, turning back from her final shot only to realise what had happened to Anya. "Oh."

"We have to help her!" Clarke said, looking urgently at the woman in black. "She's the only one who might be able to help me talk to the Grounders-"

"Already on it," Mockingjay said, turning to call down the hill. " _Peeta_! We need evac!"

Before Clarke could ask what the first word meant, Iron Man had flown back towards them, landing just long enough to take in the scene before he walked forward and picked Anya up, cradling her in his arms before he hurtled into the sky towards the hovercraft that was still stationary above them (Clarke guessed that none of the Mount Weather teams had brought anything capable of damaging something that big).

"Hold on," Mockingjay said, reaching over to pull Clarke towards her, waiting for the younger woman to wrap her arms around her before pulling out her bow and arrow and aiming it upwards. Before Clarke could ask what the other woman was doing, Mockingjay fired the arrow with a long cable trailing behind it, hooking the other end to her belt before both of them were hauled up towards a hole in the floor of the ship above them.

As the two of them landed in the ship, Clarke briefly took in her surroundings, noting that Anya was lying on a bed on one side of the craft interior with Iron Man standing anxiously over her- his helmet now removed to reveal a warm face with light blonde hair around Mockingjay's age- before her gaze fixed on the only person in the ship she hadn't seen before; an old man, wearing a dark blue outfit with an artificial right hand, sitting at the craft's controls.

"What's the situation?" the old man said, looking back at Clarke and Mockingjay as the other woman detached the cable-arrow from the ceiling while the hatch closed below them.

"As Peeta reported, we had several armed guards chasing two unarmed women, and the guards opened fire on us when we tried to ask what was going on," Mockingjay explained as she walked up to the front of the craft. "When they opened fire on Peeta after all he'd done was introduce himself, he felt that it was safe to conclude that they were the bad guys and open fire."

"Fair point; the good guys tend _not_ to start shooting unless they have reason to believe the others will be hostile," the old man said, smiling at her before his gaze shifted to Clarke and Anya. "And these two?"

"The people those guards were chasing," Mockingjay explained firmly. "Maybe I'm just assuming things, but neither one strikes me as deranged serial killers, and the amount of men they sent out to get them back is far too excessive for anything else; I'm going to assume they're the victims here."

"Yes!" Clarke said, too eager for help to feel insulted at being classified as a victim after everything she'd been through. "We were being held captive, and they're taking blood, and…"

Her voice trailed off as she looked around the hovercraft for a moment before her gaze settled on the old man, the only person present she hadn't been introduced to yet. "And… who are you?"

"You remember how you said you preferred Captain America?" the fair-haired young man in the armour said, looking at Clarke with a smile as he indicated the old man sitting at the ship's controls. "Well, you're in luck; this is him."

Clarke could only blink incredulously at that news.

"You… you're Captain America?" she repeated, staring uncertainly at the old man.

"I used to be, anyway; I thought about renaming myself 'General Geriatric', but it felt a bit too… 'on-the-nose', if you will," the old man said, smiling warmly at Clarke before his expression became firmer as he stood up. "Now then, before we do anything else, can you explain why your companion here seems to be so short of blood from one wound?"

"It's the treatments she was subjected to at Mount Weather," Clarke said, no doubt in her mind that she was doing the right thing; if these people were part of some complicated trap set by Mount Weather, there had to be easier ways to get her and Anya back than posing as two long-gone heroes that Clarke may not have even heard of and attacking their own men.

"Treatments?" the man in the Iron Man armour repeated curiously. "What were they doing in there?"

"Taking her blood to cope with their own inability to leave the mountain," Clarke explained. "From what their president told me, they've spent so long inside the mountain that their immune systems can't cope with even the standard background radiation that exists out here on the surface; the Grounders have evolved to cope, and everyone from the Ark's even better off because we spent decades being exposed to cosmic radiation, but everyone in the mountain…"

"They're out of luck, huh?" the old man- _Captain America_?- finished for Clarke, looking grimly at Anya. "From your story, shall I assume you're from the Ark and this woman here is one of what you referred to as 'Grounders'?"

"Yes, that's- hold on, you know about the Ark?" Clark asked, looking between the three in surprise as she registered their casual reactions to everything she'd been telling them. "How-?"

"One of the station fragments crash-landed near our main research facility," Mockingjay explained. "We were able to recover a few survivors from the crash, and one of them- Callie Cartig- was able to tell us more about the last few months."

"Callie?" Clarke said, looking at the other woman in surprise. "She's alive?"

"You know her?" the man in the Iron Man armour asked, looking at her in surprise.

"Yeah, she was my mom's best friend up on the Ark…" Clarke said, shaking her head incredulously as she looked at the three people. "And… that's why you're here?"

"Precisely," the old man- it was easier to think of him that way than to think of him as _Captain America_ \- said with a firm nod. "Getting back to Mount Weather, can you explain what your companion's loss of blood has to do with anything?"

"I'm just guessing, but I think… ever since they started trying to go outside again, they've been using blood transfusions from the Grounders to let themselves leave the mountain," Clarke explained. "It's only effective in the short term and they still need protective clothing, but their president speculated that we might be the key to helping them leave…"

"Which means they'll probably start using you sooner or later," the old man noted grimly. "Once you make a decision to see some people as a resource, it's only a matter of time before everyone not allied with you becomes expendable in the name of your own goals…"

"In other words, we've found the bad guy?" Mockingjay asked with a slightly grim smile.

"To say the least," the old man confirmed.

"Really?" Clarke said, looking between the two in sudden apprehension, unable to believe what she was hearing. "You… you'll help us?"

"The three of us came all this way to find out what happened to the crashed Ark fragments; your people sound like an interesting group from what we've heard so far, we don't like what we've heard of the Mount Weather residents to date, so we're not going to leave your people alone to deal with something like this," the old man said firmly, tapping a few controls and getting up from the control panel to walk back to Anya. "In the meantime, prep for blood transfusion; if the problem with Anya here is a shortage of blood, I'm fairly sure I'm still a universal donor."

"You're going to give her _your_ blood?" Mockingjay said, looking apprehensively at the old man. "I mean, you've got that serum in you-"

"We came here to try and negotiate some kind of peace between the Ark residents and these 'Grounders'," the old man said firmly. "Whatever the risks of giving Anya here access to the serum, we're not going to let someone die if we can save them."

"I'll start prepping for transfusion," Mockingjay said quickly hurrying over to a nearby cabinet, leaving Clarke to look anxiously at the injured Grounder.

She knew that Anya was strong, but after all the blood she'd lost already…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the record, for those who are fans of both 'The 100' and 'Agents of SHIELD', I am aware that the same actress played Anya in 'The 100' and Jiaying in 'Agents', but despite Jiaying's virtual immortality (By which I mean she could live forever if she isn't completely torn apart and left to rot), the resemblance between the two is just going to be a coincidence with no connection between Anya and the MCU Inhumans, although she _will_ have ties to someone else, as you'll learn in the next chapter…


	6. A Different Shade of Green

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to Katniss, as each side learns a bit more about each other and Anya goes through an unexpected change…

As far as 'first contact' went, I was unsure if what had just happened should be considered a success or a failure. On the one hand, we'd met the residents of Mount Weather and immediately engaged them in a fight before we'd had time to really learn what they were doing, but on the other hand, we had managed to rescue the daughter of Callie's friend and get some useful hands-on insight into what was going on.

Besides, as Peeta had noted, if people started shooting at someone just for talking to them, then it was a safe guess that they weren't going to be on our side. We might only have Clarke's word regarding her identity, and what we'd seen suggested that things were and Anya were strained at best, but since Clarke couldn't have known that we'd made contact with Callie already, I was willing to take her at face value at the moment.

The thing that really puzzled me right now was how those last few guards from Mount Weather had managed to get so close to us at the end. I acknowledged that Peeta and I were still learning how to use some of the technology that we'd either inherited from the original Avengers or received from the various Districts- every District able to make a contribution to the Avengers was keen to do so, even if we were working on becoming self-sufficient in terms of our resources and skills- but Steve in particular should know enough about the hovercraft's sensors not to miss a platoon of advancing armed guards.

"They must have had some kind of cloaking system to deflect our scans," Steve speculated when I brought the issue up, looking up at the ceiling in contemplation as he lay on a bed at one side of the ship, the woman Clarke had identified as Anya on the opposite side as blood pumped from his veins into hers to replenish what she'd lost, the transference taking place in a system of tubes hanging from the ceiling to prevent Anya damaging them if she woke up before we were ready. "Keep in mind that they probably don't know what the Ark's capable of now that it's landed, and we know for a fact that they don't know about us as we'd have detected any attempt to access those old networks, so they most likely wanted to make sure that they could get around without anyone finding them…"

"And they came up with that this quickly?" Clarke asked, looking around us in surprise. "We only landed a few months ago, and we've never used anything more advanced than guns and bullets-"

"Wherever they're from, they've had time to prepare and adjust; we shouldn't make the mistake of thinking they're primitive just because they've been isolated for a while," Steve said firmly, as the medical computer let out a sudden beep to inform us that the transfusion was over.

"Isolated?" Clarke repeated, looking curiously between the three of us at that comment, realising something she clearly hadn't had time to think about so far. "You mean… you're all from somewhere else on Earth? You're what they were 'isolated' from?"

"We're from the main area of this continent, and we've lived here all our lives," I explained, smiling slightly at my own casual acceptance of this knowledge; I'd barely even known that the ocean existed a few months ago, and now I was discussing the geography of our world so casually I couldn't quite believe it. "The area where your 'Grounders' and Mount Weather are located were subject to particularly heavy bombardment during the nuclear war that decimated Earth. Our… leaders… were able to build radiation shields that protected us from the worst of the fallout in our part of the country, but everyone assumed that anyone still in this area when the bombs hit was dead and that was that."

"Based on what we've heard about these 'Grounders' of yours, there must have been a few survivors on the outskirts of the blasts that everyone else missed," Steve continued, looking thoughtfully at Anya as she lay beside him. "With most of their resources lost, they probably regressed to a tribal mentality just to cope with what was left, and eventually… well, here we are."

"Oh," Clarke said, looking at me curiously before she looked at Steve. "So… if you're Captain America… I mean, I'm sorry for being blunt, but-"

"How am I still alive after this long?" Steve finished for her with a slight smile. "Further suspended animation after a particularly brutal beating, a few artificial substitutes for my more damaged organs, and the super-soldier serum that made me this way making sure that I keep on ticking at peak human potential."

"Ah," Clarke said, simply staring at him for a moment before she smiled uncertainly and held out her hand. "Well… it's an… honour to meet you; Callie told me all about the Avengers when I was growing up, and…"

She chuckled in an embarrassed manner as Steve took her hand. "It's kind of silly, but I… I always admired how you kept on trying even when it seemed like you couldn't do anything."

"Before I got the serum, you mean?" Steve asked.

"That, and… well, what you did when you were on the team," Clarke clarified, shrugging awkwardly at him. "I mean… you were the _leader_ of a team that included a god and the Hulk; I was always just amazed that you managed that."

"I just did my duty," Steve said, his expression becoming solemn for a moment before he indicated me. "These days, Mockingjay here does most of the fieldwork; I'm too old to be anything more than a coordinator."

"Oh," Clarke said, looking at him in silence for a moment before looking back at me. "So… how did you get this job?"

"A long and complicated story involving me triggering a revolution against a corrupt government and Steve deciding that I was what he was looking for in the new Avengers," I explained; talking about the time-travel elements of our 'debut' right now would just make everything far too complicated. "The important thing is that we're here now; Peeta and I are two of the current Avengers, and we have three more new members back at our main facility… along with Thor, of course."

"Thor?" Clarke repeated, looking at me with an incredulous grin. "As in, _the_ Thor? The one who was a member of the original team? He's still alive?"

"He… had a crisis of faith for a while, but he's back in the game now," Steve confirmed, smiling briefly at Clarke's grin. "He's got more responsibilities back on Asgard than he had in the past, so he doesn't participate in all our missions, but-"

Further conversation was cut short when Anya suddenly woke up, her eyes scanning her surroundings with a sense of urgency that only became more panicked as she took in the tubes connecting her arm to Steve's.

" _NO_!" she yelled, yanking the tubes out with one arm as she broke the straps that had been holding her down to stop her rolling about during the flight.

"Wait-" Steve began, quickly removing the tubes from his own arm as he stood up to look anxiously at Anya, only for his jaw to drop as he took in what was happening. Even as Peeta and I watched her, my eyes widened in shock as I saw her growing larger and her skin turning green, clothes stretching and tearing as her muscles expanded within them.

"She's a _Hulk_?" Peeta said, looking sharply at Steve. "Why wouldn't we have-?"

"It's my blood…" Steve said, before his eyes narrowed and he turned to slam his hands down on the hovercraft controls, bringing the ship to a halt mid-air as he opened the rear hatch. "Peeta, get her outside and down to the ground, ASAP!"

"On it!" Peeta said, grabbing his helmet and putting it back on before he turned back to Anya. As she broke the last of the straps holding her to the examination table, Peeta's repulsor jets fired and he charged towards Anya, grabbing her in his arms and hauling her out of the hovercraft before Clarke could say anything.

"What the _Hell_ -?" Clarke began, turning to look indignantly at me.

"If you've read anything about the Avengers, I assume you know about the Hulk," I interjected before she could say anything, giving her a moment to nod in confirmation before I continued; I wasn't entirely sure what had happened here myself, but as the leader of the Avengers, I had to at least imply that I knew what was going on. "In that case, you know that what was happening to Anya made her a potential danger to everyone here, so it was better to get her out where she couldn't break anything until we can get her to calm down-"

"But that's just going to make it _worse_!" Clarke protested, looking indignantly at me. "Please, you have to get me down there; I might still be able to calm her down!"

For a moment, I looked assessingly at Clarke, trying to judge how much of that belief was genuine and how much was just desperation, but in the end, I concluded that I had to at least let her try; with the best will in the world, Peeta's armour would be no match for an enraged Hulk, so I had an obligation to explore an alternative if one presented itself.

"OK," I said, standing up and looking over at Steve. "Stay in position; we'll call you when we're ready for extraction."

"Sure thing," Steve said, adjusting the craft's controls as I stepped up next to Clarke, waiting for her to wrap her arms around my neck before I leapt from the craft's rear door. Adjusting Clarke's position so that she was hanging only my back, I drew my shield and held it below me, waiting for a few moments as we hurtled through the air before we struck the ground, the shield absorbing the impact as Clarke leapt from my back to stare in shock at the fight now being waged between Peeta and the large creature that Anya had become.

Looking at the large green woman currently wrestling with Peeta, I was actually surprised to see that the transformation had left Anya looking reasonably proportionately similar to what she'd been before. Unlike Bruce and Snow, whose transformations into the Hulk had left them with significantly broader chests and muscular arms, Anya actually seemed to have a fairly similar build to her appearance when she'd been normal, apart from being at least two feet taller and with her skin a vivid green colour.

"Oh my God…" Clarke said, staring in awe as the new Hulk suddenly knocked one of Peeta's arms away before following the attack up with a powerful punch to his chest. "She… that's a _Hulk_?"

"Close," I said, trying to process possible solutions for stopping Anya if Clarke's theory didn't pan out; I might have killed the Maestro with an explosive arrow to the head, but with Thor currently absent, and no Hulk to help us hold her in position, this wasn't going to be simple if we had to repeat that feat…

"Close?" Clarke repeated, looking curiously at me as Peeta regained his balance and launched a series of punches at Anya; until I knew how this fight was going to go one way or the other, I wasn't ready to risk Clarke's life by taking her into something like that when Peeta could still hold her down.

"Believe me, a fully-powered Hulk would have won this fight already," I said, trying not to wince as Anya grabbed Peeta's arms and slammed her forehead into his faceplate, leaving it dented as he staggered back.

If we didn't end this soon, we might have to rebuild the Iron Man armour sooner than anyone had been planning…

"OK," I said, looking back at Clarke as Peeta tried to counter with a blast from his chest repulsor that only succeeded in sending Anya back a few feet. "If you think you can stop her, go ahead; just give Iron Man a chance to get out of the way first."

As Clarke nodded in response, I pulled out an arrow, checked that I'd made the right choice, and fired it at the combatants in front of us. One of Beetee's newer contributions to my arsenal, the arrow exploded as soon as it came within a metre of the two fighters, generating a brilliant burst of light that struck both of them in the eyes. Peeta's armour automatically filtered out the light to a level that he could tolerate, but Anya reeled backwards, hands over her eyes at the sudden blindness. According to our training, Peeta should have flown to safety as soon as the flare was triggered, but Anya's leg struck him in the chest as she reeled back, causing him to strike the ground with a badly-dented chestplate. For a moment, I began to move towards them, determined to help my fellow Avenger, but then Clarke appeared before them and I stepped back to watch; she'd taken advantage of the distraction to get into position, so now I had to give her the chance she'd come down here to take.

"Anya, _calm down_!" Clarke protested, standing between the woman who had become what I could only think of as a 'She-Hulk' and the fallen Iron Man, her hands raised defensively.

" _You_!" the creature that had once been another human said, glaring at Clarke as she raised her arms in a combat posture. "You betrayed-!"

"Steve Rogers was _giving_ you blood; he wasn't _taking_ it!" Clarke insisted. "Anya, I dragged you out of Mount Weather despite everything you'd done to my people because I believed you didn't deserve what they were doing to you in there; I swear, I wouldn't let them take you _back_ after all this!"

For a moment, as the new 'She-Hulk' glared at Clarke and Clarke returned the stare, all I could do was watch, praying that Peeta wasn't too badly injured and that she wouldn't do anything to Clarke before I could react…

Then, as I watched, I realised that the She-Hulk's appearance was already starting to change, her body becoming gradually thinner and shorter right in front of me as she stared at Clarke in an uncertain, yet thoughtful manner. After a few moments of silence, she had returned to her human appearance, her clothes ripped from the strain of her transformation but still intact enough to maintain Anya's privacy.

"You… OK?" Peeta asked the Grounder, raising his faceplate as he slowly sat up, staring at Anya all the while. I hurried over to help him to his feet, but a quick glance confirmed that the suit's arc reactor was still intact; Tony might have left Peeta instructions on how to maintain the armour, but the power source was one thing none of us wanted to recreate unless we absolutely had to.

"I am… fine," Anya answered, looking uncertainly at Peeta, Clarke and I as we gathered around her while she held up her hands, staring at them in wonder. "How could I… do that?"

"If I'm right," Steve said, walking up beside me as he looked at Anya with a thoughtful smile, "I think you're a descendant of Jennifer Walters."

"What-?" I began, looking at him in shock.

"To answer your question, I landed the ship back there once I saw that the fighting had ceased," Steve said, indicating another open area a short distance behind our current position, before he continued talking. "And to answer your second question… Jennifer was Bruce's cousin."

"Wait; _Bruce_?" Peeta repeated, wincing as he clutched at his side. "As in, Bruce _Banner_?"

"Anya's a descendant of the _Hulk_?" Clarke asked, her expression torn between shock and awe as she looked at Anya.

"Who is… the Hulk?" Anya asked, looking at Clarke with a new sense of certainty in her manner.

"He was one of the world's greatest heroes before… well, before everything went wrong," Clarke explained, grinning as she looked at Anya. "He was a normal man who was exposed to… some weird stuff, I don't remember what exactly… that mutated his body to allow him to… well, basically, when he got angry, he could do what you just did."

"And, like I said, I think you might be a distant relative of his through his paternal cousin, Jennifer Walters," Steve explained, stepping forward to continue the explanation. "Bruce and Jennifer lost touch some time ago, but given their relationship, I'm thinking that it's possible that Jennifer inherited the same genetic fluke that allowed Bruce to become the Hulk without the radiation just killing him immediately."

"And… she passed that 'fluke' on to Anya?" Clarke asked, looking at Steve uncertainly. "But… why would she just become that now?"

"Because of the transfusion?" Peeta asked.

"Most likely," Steve confirmed. "Bruce's original transformation into the Hulk was the result of him being exposed to gamma radiation and earlier versions of the serum, and Snow dropped a few gamma bombs in the early stages of the war, so when Anya received my blood, the combination of the serum, the radiation and whatever gene sequence in Bruce's family allowed him to become the Hulk must have come together to trigger… well, what we just saw."

"I… see…" Clarke said, nodding uncertainly in the manner I recognised as my own manner when faced with something I didn't quite understand but wanting to avoid further questions until a better time.

"Are you saying that… you… know someone who could do this?" Anya asked, looking apprehensively at Steve. "And… I am descended from them?"

"I knew two people who could transform in the manner that you just did," Steve confirmed grimly. "One was a man of peace who sought to protect that power from those who would abuse it… and the other was a complete psychopath who inspired me to reassemble my old team to defeat him after he took over the country."

"And-"

"You're descended from my friend," Steve interjected- evidently he didn't want to have to lie to Anya by letting her finish that question- walking over to place a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "He was a good man, Anya… and from everything I've heard about you from Clarke, I have faith that you'll live up to his example if you're given the chance."

As he looked solemnly at the woman who'd just been trying to beat Peeta to death a few moments ago, I was once again struck by the natural charisma Steve possessed. This woman looked like she could hold her own against Steve in a fight even without her new abilities, and he was still able to talk to her with a simple confidence that she wouldn't do anything to hurt him in response.

"How?" Anya asked, looking shakily at Steve after a moment's silence. "How can I… I was so _angry_ …"

"Help us learn more about Mount Weather's experiments, and we can give you what help we can in controlling what's happened to you," Steve said, still looking solemnly at her. "Clarke's told us some details, but we need to pool all of our resources together if we're going to make this work; this just confirms that you'll have something to contribute beyond local knowledge."

I wondered at the implications of that last sentence, but as Anya nodded in tentative agreement, I decided that now wasn't the time to tackle that issue.

I might be our field commander, but Steve still had final say in whether or not the Avengers would gain any new recruits; if he could help teach Anya how to control her transformation, she could make an interesting asset to the team…


	7. New Recruits

With Anya back on board the hovercraft, the Avengers had soon resumed their journey towards their main facility, taking only a few moments to confirm that they had no intention of taking Anya back to Mount Weather or making her do anything she didn't want to do before they continued. As though respecting the privacy of the two women, Steve, Mockingjay, and Iron Man had all gathered at the front of the ship while Clarke and Anya sat together at the back, the former Ark resident keeping an anxious eye on the Grounder leader.

Anya might have accepted Clarke's assurances that the Avengers weren't affiliated with Mount Weather, and she was clearly calmer than she had been when the initial transformation had taken place, but that didn't mean that she was automatically better. More than once, Clarke had seen Anya staring at her as though she wanted to say something, even if the Grounder's obvious pride made her reluctant to actually ask for help.

"You know," Clarke said at last, looking at Anya with a slight smile out of a lack of any other ideas about how to reassure her awkward ally, "there's no need to keep looking at yourself like that; you aren't going to change at random."

"How can you know?" Anya asked, looking at Clarke with what could be considered anxiety if it had come from anyone else

"Because in everything I've read of the Hulk, he only changed when he was feeling particularly emotional," Clarke explained, trying to sound confident and reassuring; she didn't want to provoke Anya by doing anything that might give her the impression Clarke thought she was weak for her reaction. "You might have more control when you're transformed than he did, but considering that you were fairly shocked when you woke up and thought I'd sent you back to Mount Weather, I think we can assume you're the same in that regard."

"Oh," Anya said, sitting in silence for a few moments, her expression shifting from anxiety to uncertainty, before she looked at him again. "You have… heard of this… 'Hulk'?"

"A bit," she admitted awkwardly, hoping that Anya wouldn't ask too many questions. As much as Clarke wanted to talk to the Grounder about some of the details regarding how her transformation had taken place, but her limited memory of Callie's old stories of the Avengers and her uncertainty about how much Anya would understand in the first place meant that she wasn't sure how much she even _could_ reveal under the circumstances…

"What was he?" Anya asked, which was at least a question that Clarke could answer.

"He was an Avenger," she said firmly, gaze fixed on the older woman as she spoke. "He was originally a scientist called Doctor Bruce Banner, but when he was working on recreating an old serum that was capable of enhancing the human body to operate at its peak potential… well, something went wrong, and he gained the ability to turn into the Hulk instead."

"And… how did _I_ become like that?"

"We're just guessing right now, but… well, we think that you and your people have been…" Clarke began, lost on how to explain this before she settled on a possible method. "Look, you know how the Mountain Men were… taking your blood?"

" _Yes_ ," Anya said, eyes narrowing at the memory.

"Well," Clarke said, trying not to pay too close attention to the flash of green in Anya's irises as she continued, "they're doing that because… over the years, the air out here has become slightly toxic. Your people have become used to it, and my people are actually able to cope with more potential dangers than yours after living in the sky, but the Mountain Men can't cope with what's out here, so they take your blood to make it… easier for them to go outside."

Anya simply stared at Clarke in silence, Clarke swallowing awkwardly as she took in her potential ally's cold stare.

"Believe me, I don't agree with them _doing_ it, I'm just explaining _why_ …" she said defensively, before she continued her explanation. "Anyway, we think that one of the things making the air out here toxic is the same energy source that triggered Doctor Banner's ability to turn into the Hulk. Captain Rogers over there… he was exposed to the original version of the serum that Doctor Banner was trying to recreate when he became the Hulk, so we're thinking that, when he gave you a blood transfusion, the serum in his blood mixed with the energy you've been taking in over the years, and… well, it all came together and made you the 'She-Hulk'."

Anya simply stared at Clarke in silence after that statement, but the contemplative expression in her eyes at least suggested that she was intrigued at the explanation Clarke had provided even if she didn't understand the finer details.

"The point of all that," the woman known as Mockingjay said as she walked over to sit opposite Clarke and Anya, "is that you've just received a very unexpected… 'gift', is probably the best term for this situation… and we'd like to offer you the chance to use that."

"In what way?" Anya asked, her attention shifting to the Mockingjay just as the sound of the engines powering the hovercraft shifted.

"We'll explain once we're on the ground," the other young woman said, Clarke's stomach experiencing a slight jolt as she felt the ship starting to descend, albeit at a far more gradual rate than the dropship she'd come to Earth in all those months ago. "If nothing else, there's still a couple of other Avengers you need to meet."

As the ship shuddered with a slight thump as it made contact with the ground, Clarke tried to restrain herself as she unbuckled her straps, but even after seeing Anya's transformation, the thought that she was about to meet actual modern-day _Avengers_ …

They might not have stopped the nuclear apocalypse that forced the Ark to come together, but they'd still saved humanity from becoming slaves to literal alien invaders; no matter what else had gone wrong afterwards, Clarke couldn't see how that could be anything less than a victory.

However, looking at the small group before her as the hovercraft's doors opened, Clarke hated to admit it, but she suddenly felt less confident in her chances of saving her friends. Mockingjay and Iron Man were certainly good at what they did, and the news that Thor was still alive was encouraging, but if the other Avengers consisted of just a man wearing what looked like a wetsuit while carrying an elaborate trident, and a one-armed woman with an artificial arm and an extremely large axe…

It wasn't exactly anything to sneeze at, but it wasn't the kind of arsenal she'd been hoping for after hearing all those stories of the original Avengers from-

"Callie?" she said, staring incredulously at the sight of her mother's best friend walking out of one of the side buildings.

" _Clarke_?" Callie said, staring at her in shock for a moment before she ran over to wrap Clarke in her arms, Clarke returning the hug for a moment before Callie stepped back. "What _happened_ to you?"

"We saved her and her friend here from a group of soldiers," Mockingjay explained as Anya walked out of the hovercraft alongside Iron Man, the Grounder looking at the other two in an apprehensive manner. "By the way, Clarke, Anya, these are two of the other Avengers; Bloodaxe and the Mariner."

"Bloodaxe?" Clarke repeated.

"I like it," the woman said, flexing the fingers of her artificial arm as she studied Clarke.

"So… what's going on here?" Callie asked, looking anxiously at Clarke. "The last we heard on the Ark, you were still facing war with those 'Grounders'…"

"They're not the major problem any more," Clarke said grimly; she knew that things with the Grounders would still be difficult, no matter what happened with Anya right now, but for the moment Mount Weather was the more serious problem. "Things with the Grounders just escalated due to bad decisions on both sides; we have a more immediate threat that's after us for a definite reason."

"Which is?"

"It turns out that Mount Weather's still inhabited, but the residents have been trapped in an isolated environment for so long that they can't even step outside without collapsing from radiation sickness," Clarke explained. "They're using captured grounders to treat their illnesses with massive blood transfusions, but since the rest of the Hundred are all better at coping with radiation because we spent our lives in space…"

"You're thinking they'll move on to your people as a better source of blood, right?" Bloodaxe asked grimly.

"Let's just say I've… learned to assume the worst," Clarke said, looking awkwardly at the one-armed woman.

"Good call," the older woman nodded firmly at Clarke. "I realised that _before_ some bastard crushed my arm."

"Someone _crushed_ your arm?" Callie repeated, looking at the artificial limb with a new sense of shock. "How-?"

"That's a fairly long story that will have to wait until later," Mockingjay said, looking firmly over at Callie for a moment before she turned her attention back to Anya and Clarke. "What matters right now is that we have a target, but we only have a fairly small team to deal with it-"

"We dealt with Snow-" Bloodaxe began.

"No offence, but back then we had back-up, we knew what we were going after, and nobody innocent was going to get hurt," the man who'd been introduced as the Mariner noted. "This time around, we can't guarantee Thor's going to be here and I don't think we want to be the kind of people who assume that everyone in an area deserves to die because of what kind of crap their leaders are up to."

"In other words, we can't just hack our way in without killing even the innocents," Bloodaxe noted, staring at her weapon for a moment before she sighed in frustration. "Damnit… being the good guy sucks sometimes."

"If this was easy, everyone would be doing it," Steve Rogers noted as he walked out of the hovercraft to join the team, smiling at the other two Avengers before turning back to the other four people who'd been in the hovercraft. "Still, you're wrong about one thing, Mariner; we have extra assets this time around as well."

"In what way?" Mariner asked. "Bloodaxe's arm aside, three of us are just really really good at kicking butt, and Iron Man's not that good without the suit-"

"It's been adequate for what we've had to deal with so far," the Mockingjay put in, looking over at the Mariner before she looked back at Clarke and Anya. "But I think I know what Captain Rogers means; considering what happened on the way here, we have an opportunity to do more."

"In what way?" Anya asked, looking suspiciously at the younger woman.

"Your changes make her uniquely qualified, but what I'm thinking of goes beyond that," Mockingjay explained, as she looked over at Clarke. "From what Callie's told us, things between you and the Grounders were… strained… before the Ark lost contact with you, and I have a feeling that things haven't improved much since even if you're both here?"

"Mistakes were made," Clarke said, trying to sound diplomatic; she recognised that the Hundred and the Grounders had made mistakes, but she didn't want to sound like she was blaming one side more than the other.

"Which is why this is a perfect opportunity to show that you can move past those mistakes," Captain Rogers put in, stepping forward to look at Clarke in particular with a smile. "Follow me."

Exchanging glances with Anya, Clarke shrugged and walked after the old man as he led them to one of the smaller huts around them, Anya close behind her and the rest of the Avengers around them. As they entered the hut, Clarke was surprised to find that its interior consisted solely of a series of smaller doors in front of them, along with a keypad on the left side, and nothing else.

"What is this?" she asked.

"You'll find out," Captain Rogers said, as he turned to look at her. "Clarke Griffin, what would you do to save your people?"

"Whatever I have to do that doesn't kill innocent people," Clarke said firmly.

"In that case," Steve continued, walking over to the keypad and tapping a few buttons, "what would you say to this?"

As soon as his finger touched the last button, one of the doors opened, revealing a strange-looking harness with thick 'straps' and what actually looked like rockets on its back.

"These belonged to a valued friend of mine," the old man explained, noting the curious stares he was receiving from the rest of the group. "He was never able to officially join the Avengers before everything went wrong, but he helped me mitigate the worst of the damage that my enemies might have done if I'd been fighting on my own, and I… inherited his gear after his death."

"Hold on; you've had _more_ equipment-?" Bloodaxe began.

"They weren't Avengers, so I felt that storing them separate from the rest of the weapons limited the risk, and I never found anyone I felt comfortable entrusting any of them to," Captain Rogers interjected, fixing the one-armed woman with a firm stare before his expression softened as he looked at Clarke. "Until now, anyway."

"Hold on; are you saying-?" Clarke began.

"Clarke Griffin, I want you to be the new Falcon."

Clarke could only blink at that statement.

"Falcon?" she repeated.

"Appropriate," Anya noted, smiling briefly at Clarke. "You lead the Sky People, after all."

"And I understand that you have some medical training?" the old man asked, smiling as Clarke looked at him in surprise. "The way you assessed Anya's condition without us needing to tell you what to do; only someone with experience could do everything that automatically."

"Well… my mom was the chief medical officer on the Ark, so I picked up a few things…" Clarke explained awkwardly.

"Don't worry, we've already got one field medic, so you don't have to take it on if you don't want to; it just makes it more appropriate," Rogers explained with a smile. "The first Falcon was a field medic as well as a soldier; as Anya noted, considering that you lead the 'Sky People' from the perspective of her tribe, assuming his codename just makes sense."

"Ah," Clarke said, looking at the harness once again.

It would probably need a few adjustments to fit her- she might be in good shape, but even an amateur could see that this thing had been designed for someone a bit taller and bulkier than she was, and shed need to work out what she wanted to wear under the harness since her standard jacket was a bit basic- and she was definitely going to need time to train with it if this thing was what it looked like… but she had to admit, in a strange way, she felt that she was going to enjoy the opportunity she'd just been given.

"Anya," Captain Rogers continued as he turned to the Grounder leader, "obviously, we're extending you a similar invitation; think you'd be interested in helping us take down Mount Weather?"

"Is this because of what you did to me?" Anya asked, walking up to look Rogers directly in the eyes.

"Among other factors," Rogers confirmed. "The fact that you're… well, that you've become a new Hulk makes it easier for you to contribute to the team, but I'd be making this offer even if you were still human. From what Clarke's told us, you're a leader among your people, so you can obviously handle yourself in a fight, and what's happening to Mount Weather affects the Hundred and the Grounders equally; if we're going to stop them, I want to make it clear that we're doing this for the sake of both your people, rather than just one side or the other."

Anya stared at the old man in an assessing manner for a moment, apparently unaware as Clarke looked anxiously at the Grounder leader from the side, before she held out her hand.

"If you seek the destruction of the mountain, I will fight at your side," Anya said, smiling slightly at Rogers.

"Thanks," Rogers said, giving Clarke a brief nod as she glanced at Anya in relief before he turned to address the team. "OK, we have some ideas of the situation on the Ark over the last few months, but we need to know about what's been happening on the ground; Clarke, Anya, give us what you can, and then I'll see about giving Clarke a crash course in using the Falcon harness while we sort out what to do next."

It was a credit the command authority he'd developed over the centuries that not even Clarke or Anya objected to Steve Rogers' orders despite the relatively brief time they'd known him.

Whatever was about to happen, Clarke had a feeling their lives were set to become _very_ complicated…


	8. Briefing and Preparation

Sitting in my room after my latest briefing with Steve, as prepared for the team's upcoming departure as I would ever be, I had to wonder if I was really ready to face our first major solo operation without the original Avengers. Dealing with the occasional group of surviving pro-Snow Peacekeepers or assorted Capitol fanatics who couldn't let go of the past was one thing, but from what we'd learned so far, we were about to face fanatics armed with nuclear weapons who were determined to get to the surface even if it cost the lives of innocent people…

Maybe the original Avengers had expressed their faith in me before they left, but that didn't mean I was certain that I was worthy of it yet. After Snow's death, we'd only been dealing with renegades who preferred to hold on to what Snow had tried to build because they'd lose too much if we succeeded, and none of them had been a match for Finnick, Johanna and I, never mind Peeta and Thor.

Still, even if we'd only been training them for a few days so far, I had to admit that our new members seemed promising. After Clarke and Anya had explained some of the key points about the conflict between 'the Grounders' and 'the Hundred'- neither name might be entirely accurate, but it was easier than thinking of something else- Steve had ordered the rest of the team to spend the rest of the day training while he and I worked out what to do next. As much as I'd been flattered at the evidence that he trusted my judgement enough to contribute to a discussion like that, I was also uncomfortable at the thought of taking that degree of control of a situation like this, but we still had time for Steve to give me any further 'crash courses' until I felt comfortable taking point on my own.

While Clarke had been eager for us to go into action as quickly as possible, she'd accepted our argument that she should wait for a little while to get more accustomed to working with us as a team, particularly after Anya had agreed that the 'mountain men'- as she called the residents of Mount Weather- were unlikely to turn on the rest of the teenagers being kept in the mountain immediately when they'd been fairly reasonable so far. From what I'd heard of the mountain's president, he struck me so far as being a more reasonable, kinder version of Snow, at least in terms of appearance. His own people might take precedent over anything else, and what he'd been doing to the Grounders sounded barbaric no matter how 'primitive' they were, but if he was going to resort to threats to get what he wanted he would have probably locked Clarke and her people up as soon as he found them rather than give them free reign.

As it was, even if we weren't going to attack Mount Weather immediately, that still left us with the challenge of working out how to incorporate Clarke and Anya into the team as quickly and efficiently as possible. Even if we were still waiting to hear back from Thor, the rest of us could still give our new members a crash course before we had to go into action, which had prompted a series of quick training sessions over the last couple of days.

The first step had been to spend some time assessing Clarke and Anya's current combat skills- while also working to keep Anya calm until we had a clearer plan for training her in her 'She-Hulk' state- and in general we were all satisfied with their current combat abilities. Anya's fighting style was comparatively rougher than the more developed methods my team had been trained in for the Games, but considering that we'd been trained to provide a good spectacle while in the Arenas where Anya's training just focused on staying alive, the contrast made sense, and I certainly wasn't going to criticise something if it worked. Clarke hadn't exactly demonstrated any real _skill_ when we were fighting, with her 'strategy' consisting solely of charging at her opponents and punching and/or kicking them as quickly as possible, but her obvious determination made up for that. Finnick had already volunteered to give her a few quick lessons as the closest person we had to an 'unarmed combat expert', as Peeta and I still relied on our equipment and Johanna's new arm gave her an unfair advantage, but all of us were aware that we needed her to have all her equipment before we could start any lessons in earnest.

In terms of their new costumes, Beetee was working on adjusting the Falcon harness for Clarke's smaller size, as well as a few other details he claimed to have been inspired to incorporate into the original design, and had also revealed that he was putting together a virtual reality program that would allow Clarke to get used to the harness before she had to actually fly with it in the real world. As anxious as she was to help her people, Clarke acknowledged that she needed to learn how to use her new equipment before she could be of any use, but she was clearly eager for the chance to give it a try in any form. As for Anya, while most of our clothing matters were dealt with by our former prep teams, since we all insisted on having the final say in any changes that might be made to our costumes, we were doing what we could to find something that would work with Anya's powers and history. Something that could cope with her changing sizes during her transformation was an obvious issue, but beyond that, the prep teams were having trouble finding something that she would feel comfortable in that would also 'fit' with the rest of the team.

As far as fitting in went, Anya was proving to be a tricky one. Considering our role in her transformation into a new Hulk, she seemed to be willing to accept our superior understanding of her new state, but I got the impression that she resented the sudden transition for a former leader to a subordinate in a new group despite that. I was taking care to watch my attempts to give Anya orders while remembering that she wasn't already an 'admirer' of me as the Mockingjay, but it was hard to remember that I had to prove myself to the two new members on more than a provisional basis as well as deal with the new crisis.

Still, even if integrating the new members to the team was proving a challenge, they were at least working well with each other. Despite what we'd heard of the conflict that had arisen between the Hundred and the Grounders, I got the impression that Clarke was grateful that Anya had accepted Steve's invitation to join the Avengers. Maybe it was just because she was glad not to be the only new face in the team, or maybe she hadn't given up hope that peace between her and the Grounders was possible, but either way, when we weren't training, Clarke always went over to talk to Anya, and the older woman appeared to be grateful for Clarke's company despite whatever had happened between them in the past.

On a broader note, Steve had made contact with the new Panem government to fill them in on the situation; after the Ark had crash-landed, he'd been able to negotiate for them to wait until we had time to check it out ourselves, but he needed to give them an update soon before anyone else tried to step in. Paylor had naturally been shocked to learn about the existence of the Ark, along with the new potential threat we faced from Mount Weather, but she had agreed that it was best to let us handle this situation given that Panem was still focusing on its own reconstruction efforts right now. If Mount Weather had nuclear weapons, Panem was in no shape to draw attention to itself, but one of the main advantages of our current team was that we could act as a relatively discreet 'strike force' against the mountain without making our origins obvious.

On a more personal note, I was also trying to work out how I should feel about the fact that, even after all this time, Steve was still keeping a few secrets from me. The revelation that he'd kept additional equipment from us for all this time had been a shock, after I'd spent so long certain that he was never going to conceal anything from me for his own agenda like Snow or Coin had…

However, in hindsight, I could see why he'd made that decision, and it wasn't for the same reasons as the last two Presidents had done so. For him, the Avengers had been the best hope for the world, and based on what he'd told us about the original Falcon, these other people had just been 'additional allies' when he'd known them. Even if he'd considered their equipment worth keeping, he probably didn't want to start handing out their gear until he was sure that he could give it to people who would use it properly.

The new team might be making progress, but I knew that Steve still had some doubts about Johanna in particular, even if he had acknowledged that she deserved to stay on the team after losing her arm to the Maestro. He'd never explicitly said it, but I always felt that he mainly tolerated Finnick and Johanna being on the team because they were making their own way rather than using someone else's identities, even if he respected Peeta's use of the armour ever since Tony 'chose' the former baker as his successor. If we ever needed additional members and he could find the right person to wear them, I believed that Steve would share the rest of the equipment with us then; for the moment, what we had was enough, and he hadn't yet met anyone he felt was 'worthy' of what else he kept in storage.

Getting my thoughts back to the matter of the Ark, I had to admit that things in that regard weren't going too badly, all things considered. Clarke had checked on the rest of the survivors from Callie's section of the Ark, but she'd been satisfied that we'd done the best we could for them, and decided to leave them in our care until they had more fully recovered and could be safely moved somewhere else.

As our plan currently stood, we were going to have one last meeting to go over the finer details tomorrow, and then, depending on whether we needed to do anything else, we were off to the Ark to see about making a more definite plan about how to get the rest of Clarke's people out of Mount Weather.

God, I hoped this would work…

* * *

When I arrived in the briefing room the next morning, the only thing that went completely as expected was that Steve was the only person there before me. I had just sat down beside him to talk about our next move when the door opened and Peeta, Johanna, Finnick, Clarke and Anya all walked in, Johanna and Finnick dressed in their combat gear- the suit wasn't comfortable enough for Peeta to walk around in it full-time- while Clarke and Anya were wearing clean leather outfits that reminded me of what I'd worn in my first Games.  
  
"I take it those aren't what you plan to wear in the field?" Steve asked, looking pointedly at the two women.  
  
"What's wrong with it?" Clarke asked, looking down at herself curiously.  
  
"Lack of distinction, for one thing," Steve clarified. "I appreciate that you're used to blending in to your surroundings, but as Avengers one of our primary advantages is that we create a distinct impression on our opponents; you're not going to do that if you just look like everyone else."  
  
"You ask me to change what I am-?" Anya began.  
  
"We're asking you to adapt to the new rules of what you've become," I said, looking reassuringly at the Grounder leader. "This isn't what you're used to, but none of us were used to this when Steve gave us the role; all we're asking you to do is adapt your clothing when you're working with us to reflect your new position, not change who you are when you're not fighting with us."  
  
Anya stared at us for a few moments, before she sighed and glanced over at Clarke.  
  
"I have been required to make many changes since your people came to us," she said grimly. "So long as I am not expected to completely ignore what I have done in the past… I will accept it."  
  
"No worries," Finnick smiled. "Believe me, being Mockingjay hasn't stopped Katniss going out hunting on occasion; this gig doesn't change anything you don't want it to change."  
  
"You hunt?" Anya asked, looking at me curiously.  
  
"It was my main source of income before I became an Avenger," I explained briefly, before I turned back to Steve. "So, what's our next move?"  
  
"We need to plan what step we want to take next before we go into action," Steve explained.  
  
"Obviously, our first priority is to contact the largest Ark fragment and confirm that anyone there is still alive-"  
  
"Why?" Anya interjected.  
  
"Because from what I've heard about your people, it will be easier to approach them once we have an established presence in that part of the country rather than just showing up, and if Clarke and Callie are examples the Ark already knows about the Avengers," Steve explained, allowing Anya to acknowledge his decision before he continued. "Once Katniss has explained our reasons for being there to whoever's in charge at the Ark and we can verify our status, we'll move on to talk to the Grounders and plan-"  
  
" _Me_?" I interjected, looking at Steve in shock. "Aren't you-?"  
  
"You're not going to get anywhere if I'm always standing behind you," Steve explained, smiling warmly at me. "You're capable, Katniss, but you need to have faith in yourself, and that's not going to happen if I'm always there to hold your hand when things go wrong."  
  
"Exactly!" Prim said, just as she walked into the room, wearing what I could only assume was her new Black Widow 'outfit' and carrying a large bag over her shoulder. She'd previously just been wearing a simple black one-piece suit, but I'd heard rumours that she was working with the prep team to create a more elaborate look, and this was clearly the result; while still predominately black, her costume now included silver shoulder-pads with red edges, red edges on her black boots, and a black eye-mask with red lenses. "You can do the job, Katniss; look at everything you've done so far!"  
  
"Who-?" Clarke and Anya said, looking at Prim in surprise.  
  
"Call me Black Widow," Prim interjected, smiling at the two new women with her usual warm manner. "I'm the Avengers' stealth expert and field medic; I tend not to get involved in the _fights_ as such at the moment, so I was helping keep an eye on the patients while you were all training."  
  
"You're the _medic_?" Clarke said, looking at my sister incredulously. "You're-"  
  
"She's been training since she was very young; she knows what she's doing," I interjected, looking firmly at Clarke before I turned back to look at Steve. "Seriously, are you _sure_ I should be the one handling this? This isn't like our usual talks; none of these people will have any reason to respect me-"  
  
"You're the Mockingjay," Steve said firmly. " _Make_ them respect you."  
  
There was nothing else I could say to that except to nod in acknowledgement of my mentor's argument.  
  
I'd had the advantage of an existing reputation so far, but if I wanted to prove myself as a leader, I had to make an impression on people who didn't know about that reputation, rather than just using it all the time.  
  
"Oh, Anya, Clarke?" Prim said, smiling at them as she slung the bag she'd been carrying onto the table. "I thought you might want these."  
  
"What?" Anya asked, looking curiously at the bag as Prim opened it to pull out what looked like a one-piece purple swimsuit. "What is this?"  
  
"Your uniform," Prim smiled politely at her as she tossed the outfit to Anya, followed by a pair of dark purple boots and sleeveless gloves. "Some of the team salvaged some material from President Snow's clothes after his death; he had this weird fabric that could slightly change its shape as he did, so I helped the prep team modify it to fit you better-"  
  
"And leave me _this_ exposed?" Anya asked sceptically, as she held the suit in front of her.  
  
"Well… it's not like you're going to _need_ much clothing- from what I've seen of the other Hulks in archived footage, they're pretty much bulletproof- and it covers everything essential; leaving your arms and legs exposed like that just made it easier to focus on making sure it fits your main body," Prim explained, her expression briefly becoming awkward before she turned to look at Clarke with a new smile. "Beetee and the team are still making sure the harness is in working condition after all these years, but I _have_ been able to put together the rest of your suit."  
  
"And… this is mine?" Clarke asked, looking sceptically at another uniform as she removed it from the bag, revealing black gloves and a sleeveless black top with gold edges, as well as a black helmet that covered the top of her head while leaving her hair exposed at the back. "Black and gold?"  
  
"What; the wings are going to be gold, and it's Katniss's colours-" Prim began.  
  
"And it looks good for her, but I'm _not_ Mockingjay," Clarke said, looking firmly at Prim before she turned to look awkwardly at Steve. "Actually, I… well, last night, I had a bit of time to think about all this, and I… well, I had a couple of ideas myself…"  
  
"You did?" Steve asked, looking curiously at Clarke. "What were you thinking?"  
  
"Well, making the wings gold works, but for the main costume… could it be blue?" Clarke asked, actually looking embarrassed as she made the request.  
  
"Blue?" Johanna asked, looking at Clarke with a slight smile as she indicated Steve. "As in, blue in the same shade as this guy's old costume?"  
  
"And… maybe a few stars somewhere?" Clarke continued, before she looked over at Steve. "I mean, I get that you can't exactly be 'Captain America' any more, and I'm not saying _I_ should call myself that either- Falcon sounds great as a code-name, trust me- but I just… well…"  
  
"You want to make it clear that you're not trying to be _me_ either," I said, looking at the other woman with a new sense of respect. "I can understand that."  
  
"I get that too," Peeta said, smiling slightly at Clarke. "I may wear Iron Man's armour, but  
  
I've been giving it some paint work to distinguish my armour from what Tony Stark used back in the old days; I don't want people to think I'm trying to be the new him."  
  
"You'd need to be a lot more impulsive and a hell of a bigger flirt to be _that_ guy," Johanna noted, chuckling at him as she indicated her arm. "Hey, he may have given me this, but the guy _was_ a bit of a creep."  
  
"He was also an Avenger," Steve interjected, glaring over at Johanna. "We were flawed, but we _are_ heroes; just because we stumble sometimes doesn't mean we don't deserve a chance."  
  
"Getting back to the original topic, if colour's your main concern, don't worry about it; I'm sure that my team can amend _that_ easily enough," I smiled at Clarke, glad to see her willingness to take a more active role in the team. "It's not like working with some of the make-up jobs we've had to perform during the Games; we've spent months making sure they create something tasteful rather than just something that makes a vivid impression."  
  
"So… it won't take long?" Clarke asked anxiously.  
  
"So long as you keep working on Beetee's training program, I see no reason why we shouldn't be ready to leave for the Ark tomorrow," Finnick smiled. "Trust me, I've spent enough time with those teams to know what they can do; give them something to work with and you'll be amazed what they can do."  
  
"In the meantime," Steve said, looking between our two new members with a smile, "see if you can get in one last evening of practise before we move out; if we're going to make an impression on the Ark, I want to make the best possible impact that we can."  
  
It was a weak excuse to delay our trip to the Ark, but now that I knew I was taking point for this encounter, I wanted to be sure I knew what I was going to say…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming up next, the Avengers will travel to the Ark, and we see how things unfolded for the Grounders and the Ark without Clarke's presence (She'll only have been absent for the equivalent of the next couple of episodes after her and Anya's escape, but even the little things can have consequences)…


	9. The Falcon and the Bridge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few scenes here were partially written by/inspired by my colleague, David Knight, and I thank him for his input

When she woke up to see her new outfit lying on the chair beside her bed, still wearing her own clothes, Clarke wasn't sure if she should be impressed or disturbed at the fact that someone had managed to do that without waking her up.

On the one hand, after hearing so many stories about the Avengers from Callie as she was growing up, she was beyond amazed at the revelation that not only were the Avengers now active again, but actually wanted her as a _member_ … but on the other hand, she had to wonder if she was really ready for it.

So far, she hadn't really _done_ anything since arriving on Earth apart from try to set up a peace treaty that hadn't worked out, escape from a 'prison' that hadn't been expecting that kind of escape, and perform a few limited operations that she'd only done because nobody else was available to do it. She might have 'won' in the sense that she was alive and free right now, but the idea that she was being considered as a valid member for the new version of 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes'…

That would have been intimidating even _before_ everything Callie had speculated about her the previous night, when she'd gone to visit her 'adopted aunt' after the last meeting.

* * *

_Looking around the apart_ _ment that Callie had been living in since being recovered by the Avengers, Clarke had to admit that she found it a very interesting look. It wasn't that different from the quarters she had lived in with her family in the Ark, except that it was made of stone, brick and wood rather than just metal and steel._  
  
 _Of course, the real difference was the windows, displaying views of trees and assorted greenery that she had never had on the Ark._  
  
"And it looks to be as if the five day forecast for the Capital will be cool in the high 60s _," an unfamiliar voice suddenly said. "_ Which is a godsend for those working on the ongoing reconstruction efforts _…"_  
  
 _Turning in the direction of the voice, Clarke was amazed to see a screen displaying a man sitting behind what had to be a news desk, unfamiliar maps on the wall behind him as he spoke._  
  
" _Is that…?" she began._  
  
" _Feels different, doesn't it_ _?" Callie said, smiling at her in understanding as she held what looked like a remote. "Watching it live instead of watching the same recording over and over again?"_  
  
 _Clarke was about to respond when Callie suddenly changed the channel, the screen shifting from the news broadcast to what looked like a baseball game. "There's more?"_  
  
" _They have about forty different channels; it's small compared to having thousands before the wars, and a few of them are just there rather than actually broadcasting anything, but it's still impressive by our standards," Callie replied, as she headed over to a refrigerator. "I actually thought we might do something straight out of a chick flick. I know you don't like those films all that much, but I think you might like this, since you've never had it before."_  
  
" _Had what?" Clarke asked, as Callie turned around to face her with a smile and two plastic cartons in her hands._  
  
" _Eat ice cream and talk," Callie said, handing Clarke one of the cartons and a metal spoon. "It's just vanilla, but I figure that's a good flavour to start with while you're working out what you like."_  
  
" _Thanks," Clarke said, taking the spoon and starting to eat, enjoying the coldness of the food for a moment- after water, she hadn't had anything cool since coming down to Earth- before she looked curiously at Callie. "So, what was that… announcer… talking about when he mentioned 'reconstruction efforts'?"_  
  
" _I haven't heard the full story yet, but from what I picked up, it…" Callie said, looking awkwardly at her friend's daughter for a moment before she finished. "Well, it sounds like_ _the Avengers' debut was just last year, when they defeated the dictator who'd been ruling this country for the better part of the last century."_  
  
"Century _?" Clarke repeated._  
  
" _He apparently had some kind of 'powers' himself, but I haven't been able to ask them for more specifics," Callie explained, her expression grim before she continued her story. "Anyway, from what I've heard, for several years before now, this part of the country was ruled by a twisted dictatorship that kept the population divided into twelve districts, each one producing a certain resource such as fish, power or coal, and had them each send two teenagers each year to participate in a modern gladiator-style fight to the death."_  
  
" _Excuse me?" Clarke asked, looking sharply at Callie. "Gladiators? Like in Ancient Rome?"_  
  
" _With modern updates and in a broader field, but the analogy sounds appropriate from what I've heard," Callie explained. "Mockingjay and the new Iron Man were the victors of the last Games when they managed to put the gamemakers in a difficult position, and apparently the Mariner and Bloodaxe were victors of past Games as well."_  
  
" _They were chosen because they won these… Games?"_  
  
" _Captain Rogers made it clear that he chose them from several other Victors because they won for the right reasons," Callie said, understanding Clarke's apprehension. "They competed in the Games, but they didn't let the Games control everything they did afterwards. When they had a chance to fight for what mattered, they all stood up and fought; actually, Mockingjay triggered the revolution against the dictator when she volunteered for the Games to save her sister from competing."_  
  
" _Her sister… the Black Widow?" Clarke asked, recalling a comment made during her training as well as some of the stories about the original Avenger with that name; the first Black Widow hadn't made the same solo impression as most of the male Avengers, but a few stories of her past missions had been revealed over the decades since the Avengers fell._  
  
" _She's mainly the team's field medic, and even that's only when Mockingjay's sure that she won't be in danger," Callie said, smiling slightly at some memory. "I've spent some time talking with her in the infirmary; her sister might accept that she's growing up, but she's still trying to keep her safe."_  
  
" _Are all siblings like that?" Clarke wondered, suddenly recalling all the lengths Bellamy had gone to while trying to help Octavia since we'd all arrived on the ground._  
  
" _It varies," Callie smiled, before she looked at Clarke with a more serious manner. "The point I'm trying to make, Clarke, is that these people have been active for almost a year according to the stories I've heard, and they've kept their membership as it was since they became a team; they wouldn't offer you a place among them if they didn't feel you were worth it."_  
  
 _There was a lot more that Clarke wanted to say to that statement, but for the moment, she just let herself take in the compliment and focus on that._  
  
" _You know," Callie continued, indicating the screen displaying the same sports game, "I look at this, this world that we find ourselves in… and I can't help but wonder how badly our people may take to it."_  
  
" _How badly?" Clarke asked incredulously. "We've all been stuck on the Ark wanting to get to the ground for the last century; how could anyone be anything but happy?"_  
  
" _Clarke," Callie said, the sombre expression on her face cutting through Clarke's mood better than any words, "what has been the one thought driving our people, allowing us to commit the acts we did justify our survival? That we, the last of humanity, can bring civilization back to the Earth."_  
  
 _Clarke knew those words all too well. It's how they rationalized the Purge, the sending to the Ground... the Floating of her father... That and so much more, even before life support had started failing. It was all because they believed they were the very last of humanity and their mission, the reason they were alive, was to return to Earth and restart civilization once it had 'healed' from the nuclear wars. That was what every child had drilled into their minds; that everything they did on the Ark was to service that goal one day._  
  
 _Callie waited until she saw that Clarke had processed what she had said and started speaking again. "It was the belief that we were the absolute last, that we would bring civilization back to a desolate, barren world, that sustained all the generations that came before you on the Ark, Clarke. You shattered that when you told us about the Grounders, yet many still had hope because even if we had to share Earth, we could believe that we were still bringing civilization back."_  
  
" _And yet we've got a civilization here already," Clark said. Everything she had seen from the Avengers already spoke to a civilization that was equal if not more advanced than that of the Ark._  
  
" _I don't know how many of us are left from the Ark, but right now they're probably clinging to their dreams because it's all they have. And in spite of everything we've seen so far about what marvels they have here…"_  
  
" _You don't think our people will take well to the differences?" Clarke asked_ _._  
  
" _We've got at least two different social cultures, to say nothing of what is going on with those 'Grounders' of yours, and now there's the people from Mount Weather to take into account along with whatever other people are still living on the planet," Callie said, sighing slightly before she looked at Clarke. "Whatever way I look at it, the only way to avoid trouble… is if there's something… or rather, someone… that can bridge the gaps between the two."_  
  
 _Clarke didn't say anything, only looking at the sly smile on Callie's face before it dawned upon her. "Me? You think I'm your bridge?" She shook her head. "I tried to negotiate peace between us and the Grounders and it failed..."_  
  
" _From what I hear, there was lack of trust on all sides, and yet you managed to survive the mistakes that came about and even help the rest of the kids survive," Callie returned. "Clarke, you've met with the leaders of so many factions on this new Earth- even if Mockingjay and Captain Rogers define themselves as representatives of their culture rather than leaders- and you're still here. You understand them more intimately than anyone. If that doesn't fit the description of a bridge, I don't know what will."_  
  
" _But… will anyone_ listen _to me?" Clarke asked, suddenly recalling another fear she wasn't entirely ready to voice to anyone else. "I mean, I tried to keep Mom up-to-date with whatever was going on here, but when we actually_ meet _again, I just… I think…"_  
  
" _You think she'll still treat you like a child," Callie finished for her, nodding in understanding as she reached up and unclipped a silver chain from around her neck, passing it to Clarke so that she could see the ornate ring attached to it. "Here."_  
  
" _What's this?" Clarke asked, taking the chain and looking at it curiously._  
  
" _Something that your mother and Marcus will both recognise as mine," Callie smiled. "I'll be staying here to keep an eye on the other Ark survivors from my section, but if they start thinking you've been brainwashed or anything stupid like that, show them that ring and they'll understand that I'm alive and I have faith in you."_  
  
 _It was another small gesture in the grand scheme of things, but it was also a gesture that Clarke greatly appreciated._

* * *

Shaking off those memories, Clarke looked at the costume lying beside her bed once again, before she glanced at her watch. Based on what Mockingjay and Captain America had told her and the other Avengers once the last training session had concluded, she only had half an hour to get dressed before the Avengers left to make contact with the largest intact Ark fragment, so she had to get moving if she didn't want to get left behind.  
  
Even if she had her doubts about the decision to put her on the team, Clarke was here to represent her people; she couldn't reject that responsibility, no matter how much she doubted her abilities.  
  
Making her decision, Clarke got out of bed and shrugged off her jacket as she began to put on her new suit; whatever she felt about her abilities as an Avenger, she had the suit, she had her responsibilities to her people, and she was going to use the suit and do what she could to live up to her new responsibilities until she fell or they actually asked her to leave the team.

* * *

When Clarke emerged from her room, she was glad to see that the other Avengers were already waiting for her in the hovercraft hanger, each of them clearly impressed with her new look. While the original outfit offered to her yesterday had just been a sleeveless black top with gold edging, the new version was a deep blue in colour and included short sleeves that went up to her elbows, with leather knee guards and boots reaching up to just below her knees on her legs. There was a white diamond on either side of her chest, with a red falcon in a similar style to the old SHIELD logo inside it, along with a deep white star on her front just below her neck. The 'A' that had been used as the original Avengers' logo was proudly displayed on her shoulderguards, and she wore blue fingerless gloves with a white star on the top of her hands, along with red bracers at her wrists. The upper half of her head was covered by a blue mask that only exposed her mouth, her hair tied back in a ponytail, and two large handguns hung at her sides.  
  
" _Nice_ ," Johanna nodded in approval. "Kick-ass suit while letting you look good."  
  
"That is important?" Anya asked, looking sceptically over at the one-armed woman.  
  
"Hey!" Clarke said, realising in surprise that Anya was just wearing a brown leather jacket and trousers rather than the purple suit she'd been given yesterday. "What happened to your uniform?"  
  
"It was felt that it would be less… intimidating… to your people if I arrive like this," Anya explained, glaring briefly over at Mockingjay even if she seemed to accept the decision. "I am wearing that suit under these clothes, but I will be attending the first meeting like this."  
  
"I though you wanted to make a dramatic impression?" Clarke noted as she turned to her new 'leader'.  
  
"Dramatic, yes, but I don't want to intimidate anyone," Katniss clarified. "That's why Peeta and Prim will be staying here while we head to the Ark; we need to establish what we can offer and that we can work with your people, without looking like we're trying to intimidate them into cooperation."  
  
"And you're sure you want _me_ along for that?" Johanna asked with a sarcastic smile as she held out her axe.  
  
"Your arm shows that we're not just killers," Katniss said. "Anyone can kill, but we wouldn't have gone to all the trouble of creating that arm for you if we didn't want _you_ to stay around."  
  
"Quite," Finnick smiled in agreement at Katniss's statement. "After all, there's got to be easier people to be on a team with than you."  
  
"Want to pay for that next training session?" Johanna asked teasingly even as she adjusted her grip on the axe.  
  
"Shutting up now," Finnick said in understanding.  
  
"We should go," Anya said, glaring at the other Avengers. "If we are to defeat the Mountain Men, the sooner we take action the better."  
  
"Right," Katniss said, looking apprehensively at the new Hulk before she turned back to the hovercraft behind them. "Let's go."  
  
As Johanna, Finnick and Anya headed into the hovercraft, Katniss exchanged a brief handshake with Clarke before she turned to look at Peeta, who was standing off to the side of the hanger with Prim.  
  
"Do what you can," she said to the remaining members of the team. "The more we know about whatever's in that mountain, and the better shape those Ark residents are in when we have to take them back, the better."  
  
"They're doing fine," Prim smiled at her sister.  
  
"And Beetee and I will do what we can on hacking those networks," Peeta confirmed. "They might have experience, but they probably aren't even aware that we're here; we'll get something eventually."  
  
"Good luck," Katniss said, before she turned around to join Clarke and the others in the hovercraft, nodding at Finnick as he sat at the controls. "Let's go."  
  
As the hovercraft took off, Clarke couldn't resist the urge to keep checking her new suit, making sure she knew where all the controls and buckles were in preparation for whatever might be about to happen.  
  
She'd training in that VR simulation system as much as she could, but there was still only so much she could do without actually taking this thing into the air on her own…  
  
God, she hoped she was ready for this.


	10. Mockingjay in the Ark

Our current situation was relatively unprecedented, but in a strange way, I was actually enjoying the mess we were in so far.

As much as I had initially feared having to make an impression on the former residents of the Ark on my own, the more time I spent talking with Callie, Clarke and Anya, the more comfortable I felt at the thought of what I was about to do. My past experiences at dealing with leaders had all been based around their knowledge of my reputation as the Mockingjay, but I'd gone up against a few people who still regarded me as little more than the frightened girl playing the Capitol's game because she didn't know what else to do; if I could make them actually surrender to me just by shooting a few arrows and moving the shield around, I could make these people respect the Mockingjay as a leader.

Looking around at my team, I just hoped that Johanna and Finnick would manage to keep Anya 'under control'. She might respect our knowledge of her transformation enough to agree to follow my orders, but considering that we were taking her into the heart of what could be considered 'enemy territory', it was always possible that one of the Ark soldiers would do something that could provoke a transformation.

That was the main reason why I'd decided that Clarke and I would be the first ones to make contact. With Clarke's suit making her an ideal choice for taking me in to talk to the Ark on our own, it had been decided that she and I would fly in to lay the groundwork for our plan to explain the danger posed by Mount Weather before we brought in the hovercraft and the rest of the team. Bringing in the hovercraft itself without any explanation could have inspired panic, but just two people coming in to talk, even if we were flying, should inspire less concern.

Looking over at my immediate partner, I noticed that Clarke's hands kept alternating between checking her weapons and her suit's various buckles to fingering a silver chain she'd started wearing around her neck, but considering how I'd occasionally 'fiddled' with my Mockingjay pin in the field, I wasn't going to criticise anyone for wanting contact with a token of any sort.

So long as she remained calm when we were talking to her people…

"We're coming in," Finnick said, glancing back at me from his position in the pilot's seat. "Based on the trajectory the old guy gave us, and what this thing's picking up, we've got a very large concentration of metal ahead that's got to be the Ark fragment."

"Here's hoping it's the one we're looking for," I said, as I reached up to check my helmet one last time; I alternated between wearing it and not wearing it in the field as it could get uncomfortable after long periods, but on this occasion it seemed like the best way to conceal my age and make a better first impression.

With that done, I stood up and glanced over at Clarke.

"Ready?" I asked, even as I made sure that my bow, quiver and shield were all sitting comfortably on my back.

"Ready as I'll ever be," my newest teammate replied, reaching up to tap a switch on the side of her helmet that activated her 'flight lenses'; the glasses were apparently too complex for her to keep them active all the time on the ground, but she'd need them in the air to help her process what she was doing or where she was going in the suit. With that done, the two of us walked over to the nearest door as Finnick lowered the craft slightly, Clarke taking up position behind me as Johanna and Anya looked at us.

"Good luck," Johanna said, giving me a brief salute with her artificial arm.

"Always," I replied, before Clarke grabbed me under my arms and leapt out of the open hatch, the Falcon's wings spreading as the jets activated. As we were sent hurtling through the air, I kept my eyes closed for the first few moments until I felt the jetpack slow down to a point where the wind felt more tolerable.

Taking a peak at my immediate surroundings, I took a moment to appreciate the trees spread out before us- if flight was this incredible, I was surprised that Peeta spent as much time on the ground as Iron Man as he did- before I registered our destination, quickly becoming amazed at the sheer scale of the crash-site ahead of us for several reasons. Callie had told me that her 'fragment' of the Ark was comparatively small, but it was only now that I fully appreciated what she meant. The structure I was looking at was clearly either damaged or only half-built, given the various exposed girders and metal sticking out of the top, and their 'fence' consisted of barbed wire and a few large pieces of metal that had clearly been taken from the main ship, but considering that it must have crashed down only a few days ago, the residents had clearly gone to great lengths to make it habitable.

"Drop me in the middle of the fence!" I called up to Clarke as we approached our destination. "Keep going and circle back; I'll make the introductions before you land!"

"Are you sure?" Clarke called back down to me, only just audible over the roaring wind.

"Trust me!" I smiled back, reaching back to take hold of one of the handles on my shield. "And… _now_!"

Moving my shield below me as Clarke released her grip, I hurtled towards the ground shield-first, striking my target in the middle of the open area before the crash, quickly vaulting upwards to land on my feet in front of the assorted soldiers, all of whom were staring incredulously at me.

"Hello," I said, looking around at the assembled soldiers with a slight smile. "I'm Mockingjay; I'd like to speak to Abigail Griffin?"

The name prompted a few moments of anxious discussion among the people around me, until a woman a few years older than Callie stepped forward, her face and clothing stained with dirt but with an authoritative manner about her.

"I'm Abigail Griffin," she said grimly. "And… you are?"

"If you'll just wait a moment, I believe that my colleague will make introductions easier," I said, glancing upwards as I heard the jetpack's engines coming in towards us.

"Your…?" Abigail began, before she followed my gaze to see Clarke heading towards us, a blue-and-red dot that rapidly became clearer as it drew closer. In a matter of seconds, the newest Avenger was directly above my position as she came to an abrupt halt and lowered herself to the ground, wings folding into the jetpack as she looked at the older woman.

"Hey Mom," Clarke said, keeping her voice low as she addressed her mother.

"…Clarke?" Abigail said, staring at Clarke in obvious shock before she turned to me. "What… how…?"

"That's… a long story, Mom," Clarke said, looking uncertainly at her mother. "Could we just… talk to the Chancellor about this?"

Despite her initial shock, the other woman actually smiled at that news.

"Well," she shrugged awkwardly at Clarke and I, "this makes it easier; _I'm_ the Chancellor."

"You?" Clarke and I said simultaneously.

"Marcus… had to go out and deal with things; I'm acting as Chancellor until he gets back," Abigail said, before she turned to lead the two of us into the Ark. After exchanging a glance with Clarke, the two of us walked after Abigail for a few moments until we arrived in a fair-sized room with a battered table in it.

"This room survived?" Clarke asked, looking at the room in surprise.

"It was fairly contained when the crash happened; most of the exterior rooms took the worst of the damage," Abigail said, before she sat down at the end of the table and looked at me. "So… who are you?"

"Like I said, I'm Mockingjay," I said, smiling slightly at Abigail as I sat at the other end of the table, Clarke taking up a similar position slightly between Abigail and I even as I noted that she was sitting slightly closer to me than her own mother. "I'm the leader of the Avengers-"

"The _Avengers_?" Abigail said, looking incredulously at me. "But… I mean, we heard about the Grounders-"

"It turns out that the Grounders are just the survivors of the heaviest nuclear bombardment in the initial wars," Clarke explained, looking grimly at her mother as she explained what she'd learned from us. "There's at least one more major civilisation here, but this area's been relatively ignored by them for the last century or so because…"

"Because it was ruled by a near-immortal, virtually indestructible psychopath who thought that he could justify turning twelve districts into elaborate players in his own twisted Games by arguing to himself that he was proving that _they_ were the monsters people had always claimed he was," I interjected; we might have filled Clarke in on the essentials of our recent history, but it was clearly still difficult for her to process the full scale of what we'd been dealing with. "It was only a couple of years ago that our mentor decided it was time to strike back, recruiting me and a few of my… allies to become a new team of Avengers; we killed the dictator a few months ago and since then we've been focused on rebuilding some kind of society to replace what came before."

"What?" Abigail said, looking at me in shock. "Who was… why-?"

"Believe me, you don't want to know what he was capable of long-term," I said, my expression cold as I remembered what Snow had said in our brief conversation before the Victory Tour and the results of my final stand against him with the rest of the Avengers. "The point is that we haven't really had reason to pay much attention to this part of the continent since we killed him, but when the Ark crashed down, we were able to rescue a few survivors from another component."

"Callie was with them," Clarke said, smiling at her mother as she reached down her top and pulled out the silver chain with the ring on it. "She gave me this."

"Callie's alive?" Abigail said, looking at her daughter in surprise.

"She's back at the Avengers' compound, keeping an eye on the other survivors," I put in. "My sister and mother are helping with the treatment, but we have more… urgent issues to discuss right now."

"Like what?" Abigail asked.

"It turns out that Mount Weather isn't as uninhabited as we thought it was," Clarke continued, her tone grim as she looked at her mother. "A group of people hid in there when the nuclear bombs were unleashed, and they were able to survive in there at first, but after the excess radiation died down… well, they've spent so long underground in a secure environment that they can't even step outside the base because they just can't cope with even the residual background radiation out here."

"From what Clarke observed while she was in Mount Weather, the residents of the mountain have been abducting the tribe you know as 'Grounders' and taking their blood in order to help them cope when outside the mountain," I continued. "They've been focusing on the Grounders so far, and I don't think they even know we're out here- some of my technical allies are taking a look at the computer systems and don't think they have any kind of wider network access- but from what Clarke learned from their president, it's unlikely they'll be satisfied with that for long."

"What?" Abigail asked sharply.

"We've been living in space for the last century," Clarke said grimly. "According to President Wallace, our bodies are better equipped to deal with radiation than even the Grounders' because we've been exposed to more extreme radiation out of the atmosphere. He seemed friendly enough at the time…"

"But if they're willing to bleed the Grounders, how long are they going to leave the rest of the 100 alone?" Abigail finished for Clarke and I, looking grimly between us before her gaze focused on me. "But that doesn't explain why you've recruited my daughter onto your team."

"We rescued her and Anya while they were escaping," I said grimly. "If we're going to help your people, my mentor and I thought that it would be best to bring in a few additional assets; I concluded that Clarke has the spirit of an Avenger, and Anya… well, things are more straightforward."

"I've spent the last couple of days training with this harness, and the rest of the team are satisfied with what I can do," Clarke explained as she indicated her jet-pack.

"And… Anya?" Abigail asked, looking uncertainly at Clarke. "Who's that?"

"She was… the Grounder general for the tribe in our area," Clarke explained awkwardly.

"What?" Abigail looked between Clarke and I in shock. "You let a _Grounder_ -?"

"Things with Anya are… complicated," Clarke said, looking uncomfortable for a moment before she focused on continuing her story. "The point is that the Avengers have allowed Anya and I to join them to save our people from the Mountain, but we're going to need the Ark and the Grounders if we're going to pull that off-"

"Hold on, if you have a whole civilisation-?"

"Right now, Mount Weather has no reason to think that they have anything more to deal with than whoever survived the Ark and the usual group of Grounders," I interjected, anticipating what Abigail was about to ask. "The other Avengers and I can participate in any kind of assault you might make against them, but if we bring in more troops, we run the risk of… provoking a larger assault."

"Larger?" Abigail and Clarke repeated in confusion.

"Nuclear weapons," I said grimly. "Mount Weather still had some nuclear missiles when the computer networks went down; if they still have any available, it might not take much for them to launch one against any potential opposition."

"In other words, we fight so that you don't have to?" Abigail asked.

" _We_ fight _with_ you to protect our people," I corrected, grateful that I wouldn't have to repeat Coin's arguments about why we had to do things her way despite our own beliefs. "If we just wanted to keep our people safe, we wouldn't be getting involved in this at all; we're here to help you because it's the right thing to do."

I stared grimly at Abigail for a few moments to make sure she understood my statement, and then sat back to stare at her. "Now then, while we're here, I don't suppose you know what happened to the rest of Clarke's group? She reported only forty-seven others in Mount Weather, and I get that there was a fight before Mount Weather's forces showed up, but they couldn't have lost _everyone_."

"Well… some of them may have escaped to other areas…" Abigail shrugged awkwardly.

"But you know where _some_ of them are," Clarke said, looking at her mother with a new intensity. "Who?"

"…Finn and John Murphy have been out looking for you for the last few days," Abigail said after a few moments. "The Blakes and Raven were with them when they went out the first time; they came back from their own search this morning with a survivor from another crash segment, but they went out again a short while ago to try again-"

"And you didn't send anyone with them?" Clarke asked, looking at her mother in a very pointed manner. "You let them leave on their _own_?"

"I've got to focus on consolidating our own position, Clarke; I can't spare trained soldiers-"

"In other words, we weren't _important_ enough," Clarke countered, glaring at her mother even as she remained sitting. "We've been missing since you landed here, and the priority is still _your_ agenda-"

"If this is about your father-"

"This is about you choosing the so-called 'greater good' over what matters; we can't just-!"

"Look," I said, standing up to glare between the two Griffins, "we don't have time to argue about what anyone should and shouldn't have done; if there are other members of Clarke's group out there looking for her, we need to find them and get them back before anyone does something stupid."

"What makes you think-?" Abigail began.

"Because people do stupid things when they're desperate," I said firmly. "And speaking as the woman who entered a competition where I had a less than one-in-twenty-four chance of dying just to save my sister, when you're dealing with someone you love in peril, you can become _very_ desperate."

With that statement made, I reached up to my helmet and activated my comlink with the hovercraft. "Mariner, prepare for pick-up; we have to find a search-party sent out a few days ago before everything goes _really_ wrong."

" _Search party_?" Finnick repeated at the other end of the line. " _What are you_ -?"

"We can work out the specifics once Falcon and I are back on board," I said, already falling back into Steve's insistence on the use of codenames only in the field. "The important thing is to track down Clarke's allies before anyone does something they'll regret; once you've picked us up, She-Hulk can help us work out where to go next."

Maybe I was acting on impulse, but after all the time that Steve had told me to trust my instincts, right now there was no time to question my gut instinct; if Clarke was anything like me- and her distaste for her mother's focus on the 'greater good' hinted at that kind of mentality- she wasn't going to be in any shape to take action until she could be sure that everyone that we could account for was somewhere safe.

Glancing over at my new teammate, Clarke was already activating her harness as we emerged from the Ark to take us up into the air to rendezvous with the approaching hovercraft, her mind focused on our new goal.

I just hoped that we could find them before something went wrong…


	11. Dark Reunions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to make a few assumptions about geography to make this one work, but I hope that the result works as the Avengers meet more of the 100 cast

Only able to stare at the door of the conference room after Clarke and her new… friend?... had run out, Abby had no idea how she should feel about what had just taken place.

She'd already accepted the idea that Earth wasn't as abandoned and lifeless as she'd spent years believing it would be, ever since she received that first transmission from Clarke on the dropship, but learning that a few primitive tribes had survived the nuclear holocaust was completely different from learning that there was a civilisation down here that could recreate the _Avengers_ …

Granted, Abby had only seen Clarke and that woman who had introduced herself as 'Mockingjay'- and where had she come up with a name like that?- but Clarke's harness alone was evidence that there was more to Earth than the 'Grounders'; something that complex couldn't have survived this long without some kind of maintenance, and nobody would train a group on how to repair one thing and neglect everything else.

Still… if the Avengers had been reassembled for this new world she and the rest of the Ark had landed on…

What kind of threats were out there that necessitated a new team of Avengers to fight them?

And more importantly, even if Clarke was telling the truth about Mount Weather… once that issue was dealt with, would the Avengers help the Ark or the Grounders?

* * *

As Clarke carried her new team leader up into the hovercraft, her mind was already racing as she tried to work out what they could do next; the majority of the 'missing' members of the 100 might be trapped in Mount Weather, but if she could track down the Blakes, Murphy, Raven and Finn, that would at least give her something that she could actually _do_ right now.  
  
Approaching the hovercraft, Clarke was briefly unnerved when only the small side-door was opened, but she quickly decided not to worry about that in favour of getting inside as promptly as possible. With Katniss still held in her arms, she adjusted the harness's jets and altered the wings with the controls on her palms before diving through the door, coming to a rapid halt on the ground as she dropped Katniss to the floor and quickly turned the jets off.  
  
"Nice," Johanna nodded at her in approval. "Talk about turning on a dime."  
  
"It's actually not too hard once you know how," Clarke said, deciding not to mention her various near-crashes in that VR simulation (which had only been 'near' because she kept getting pulled out before she could do anything that would have hurt her in real life).  
  
"So what's up?" Finnick asked, turning from his position in the driving seat. "Negotiations not go well?"  
  
"No, my mother seemed willing to listen, but we have a more immediate issue," Clarke explained urgently, before she turned to Anya. "We've got search parties out looking for me and the rest of my people who were in the dropship, and if they find one of your villages first, there's no telling what any could do; if they set out from here, can you tell us what a search party might find first?"  
  
"You ask me to tell you where my people are-?"  
  
"We are _asking_ you to help us find missing people before anyone does anything stupid," Katniss interjected, glaring firmly at Anya despite the fact that the Grounder leader could tear her apart with her bare hands if she changed. "You're one of the Avengers now, Anya; we're not going to ask you to go after anyone you care about, but in turn you need to trust that we won't ask you to do anything that compromises your ties to your people."  
  
"That's the thing about Mockingjay," Johanna put in, smiling over at Anya in her usual sarcastic manner as the Grounder commander looked appraisingly at Katniss. "That whole righteous, save-everybody act gets under your skin even after you learn that it's not an act."  
  
"I thought you agreed that I was team leader?" Katniss said, looking back at Johanna with a slightly teasing smile that seemed at odds with the nature of the conversation.  
  
"Never said I didn't respect you; just saying it still gets me that you can be all that after all this," Johanna shrugged. "Hell, you killed Snow with an explosive arrow to the head and you're still willing to give Thor some of the credit."  
  
"An explosive arrow?" Anya asked, looking at Clarke in an intrigued manner.  
  
"To the _head_?" Clarke finished in shock. "Isn't that a bit-?"  
  
"When he wanted to, Snow could turn into a Hulk state that was bigger than Anya and far stronger; hitting him that hard was the only way I was ever going to put him down for good," Katniss said firmly before she indicated Finnick while looking at Anya. "We can discuss the past later; right now, we need to know where we should be looking if we want to prevent any mistakes in the present."  
  
Taking Katniss's point, Anya walked up to the front of the hovercraft as Finnick produced a straightforward map from the ship's links to the various remaining satellites; the old maps might have been rendered useless from the past bombardments, but they could still provide a starting-point to work out what might have survived from back then.  
  
"So," Katniss asked, looking uncertainly at Clarke as they sat alongside each other in the back, "what was that you meant down there about your mother making decisions based on… the 'greater good'?"  
  
Clarke sat in silence for a few moments, but finally nodded as she looked at her leader.  
  
"My mother killed my father," she said grimly.  
  
" _What_?" Katniss and Johanna yelled, looking sharply at the new Falcon.  
  
"Why would she _do_ that?" Johanna asked. "I mean, I've heard of families disagreeing-"  
  
"Callie told you about our life-support problems, right?" Clarke said.  
  
"Yeah, she mentioned that Jake Griffin-" Katniss began, before she slapped her head in frustration at the realisation of what she'd just said. "Oh… that was your _father_ , right?"  
  
"Yeah," Clarke nodded grimly.  
  
"Callie told us that Jake was floated before he could tell anyone about his discovery that the life-support was about to fail…" Katniss said, looking uncertainly at Clarke. "And… your mother reported him before he could do it?"  
  
"And I spent months thinking that my best friend was responsible because he decided that it was better for me to hate him instead of my mother," Clarke said grimly, staring out of the window for a moment before she sighed and looked back at her new team. "God… my father always liked telling me the stories of the Avengers; he'd never believe this…"  
  
"You miss him," Katniss said, looking solemnly at the new Falcon. "Believe me, that's normal no matter how it happens."  
  
"Hey, if you've got a screwed-up family, join the club," Johanna smiled over at Clarke. "My whole family were killed by that asshole Snow because I wouldn't play his games, Mockingjay lost her dad in a mining accident and her mom was a mess for a while afterwards, Mariner never mentions his parents, and Iron Man pretty much moved out as soon as he could because his mom's some kind of grade-A bitch."  
  
"Ah," Clarke said.  
  
"His mother is a what?" Anya asked, looking back at the other Avengers in confusion.  
  
"She's… basically abusive," Katniss said, looking over at Anya; this topic wasn't something she felt comfortable discussing in depth without Peeta present, but if these two were going to join the team they needed to know more about their teammates. "It all dates back to this old issue where she was basically her husband's second choice after the girl he really loved married someone else, and she was at least rumoured to beat her sons for not measuring up to her standards."  
  
"In Iron Man's defence, he never had much reasons to stand up and fight back before he ended up getting selected for the Games; he's more of a talker than a fighter most of the time," Finnick put in, turning around to join the conversation. "Anyway, we're coming up on the most likely danger zones that Miss Green here identified, so we thought you should be alerted."  
  
"Thanks," Katniss nodded at Finnick, before she turned to look at Anya as the man now known as the Mariner tapped a few controls to activate a holographic map in the middle of the hovercraft. "Where should we go?"  
  
"Here," Anya said, indicating two particular areas on the projected map. "There is a village in this area, and there is an underground construction of some sort in this part of the woods; if your people are searching in this area, it is likely that they will arrive at either of these places before they reach anywhere else."  
  
"OK," Katniss said, taking an assessment of the map for a moment before making her decision. "Clarke, you and I need to get to the village as soon as possible; if anyone's there, we'd have a better chance of calming anyone down. Johanna, take Anya and investigate the car-park-"  
  
"Car park?" Anya asked.  
  
"According to some of the old maps, it looks like that underground construction you're talking about is most likely an old car park from before the wars," Katniss explained, quickly realising the need to elaborate given Anya's background. "Basically, people used to travel around in… machines… to go long distances in short times; this location is a public location for people to leave those… machines… when they weren't in use."  
  
"I see," Anya said, her tone putting Katniss in mind of her own experiences at dealing with politics or the early days of the war; she probably had trouble even understanding the situation facing her right now, but she was choosing to focus on what she could handle.  
  
"Good," Katniss nodded in approval at her new teammate before turning to Clarke. "We need to get going now; Finnick, take Anya and Johanna to the cark park area and then maintain a holding pattern until someone calls you."  
  
"Check," Finnick smiled, opening the door as Clarke walked over to stand beside Katniss. "Good luck."  
  
"Appreciated," Katniss nodded at Finnick before Clarke grabbed her under her arms and hurtled out of the ship, goggles snapping down to provide Clarke with a suitable flight-path to the identified village.  
  
"As long as we're looking for them, could you clarify why your mother mentioned that the Blake _s_ are looking for you?" Katniss asked, after the hovercraft had vanished from her view following a few moments of flight. "I thought you said that the first wave were all juvenile delinquents and families only had one child-"  
  
"Octavia was born and raised in secret until she was a teenager," Clarke explained. "Bellamy was her older brother who kept her secret, and made sure that he'd be assigned to the dropship when he learned about the plan to send the delinquents to Earth. They're good people, but… well, Bellamy has issues with authority, and Octavia's got her own share of issues."  
  
"I can understand that," Katniss nodded grimly, as she saw a gap in the trees up ahead of them that was most likely the village they were looking for. "We're coming in; be ready-"  
  
The sound of gunfire from the village prompted both of them to accelerate their approach, no words needing to be exchanged as Clarke boosted the speed of her jets. The gunfire ceased after a few moments, but Katniss had already reached back to place a hand on her shield as the two young women drew ever closer to their destination.  
  
As soon as the village came within visual range, Katniss gave a thumbs-up to Clarke, who immediately released her grip on Mockingjay to send her hurtling towards the ground, aiming for what seemed to be the centre of the small village. As Clarke moved upwards before turning into a dive, she saw Katniss move the shield below her feet to take the impact with the ground, the young woman in black standing up to face two young men in the dark attire of the Hundred, a small gathering of people wearing the traditional brown leather of the Grounders behind her new leader. She could hear voices as she accelerated towards the ground, but the precise words were unclear as she drew closer, Clarke's eyes widening in shock as she saw one of the figures aiming a gun at Katniss.  
  
"NO!" she yelled, adjusting her descent to strike the boy with the gun before he could fire it; even if Mockingjay's shield could withstand gunfire, Clarke wasn't ready to risk ricochet damage. Lowering her speed so that the impact wouldn't cripple whoever she was about to hit, Clarke struck him with enough force to throw him to the ground, pinning him down with her legs as she glared at the young man who'd been about to shoot the leader of the Avengers-  
  
Her eyes widened in horror as she realised who she'd just attacked.  
  
" _Finn_?" she said in shock.  
  
"Who…?" Finn asked, looking uncertainly at her for a moment before his eyes widened in realisation. " _Clarke_! I found-"  
  
Clarke slammed her hand over his mouth before he could finish that sentence, suddenly disgusted at the idea that he'd had anything to do with their current reunion.  
  
As she turned around to see Katniss grabbing a gun from the other boy's arms, she wasn't sure what shocked her more; the fact that the other boy was Murphy, or the fact that he seemed to be just as shocked at what Finn had done as she was.  
  
It had been so easy to consider Murphy the villain for what he tried to do to Wells and what he'd done after returning- he might have considered it self-defence, but he could have just knocked his guards out rather than kill them- but if even _he_ was shocked at what Finn had done…  
  
Looking at Katniss, her new leader's grim expression as she studied the Grounders looking at them in shock was enough for Clarke to know that things had just become very complicated.

* * *

The more time she spent looking for the rest of the missing Hundred, the more Octavia had to wonder if they were worth all this effort.  
  
When they'd spotted a small 'patrol' of Reapers coming towards them, she and Bellamy had managed to hide after diving through an old door that had been nearly hidden by the plans growing over it, but they'd been searching this dark area for a few minutes already and hadn't even seen a sign of another way out. She supposed it was academically fascinating to see all this stuff that had survived the nuclear holocaust, and she'd even grabbed what looked like some kind of radio so that she could see what passed for music back in the day, but that didn't mean she wanted to have to stay down here.  
  
God… it seemed like every time she thought she had some stability, it got cut out from under her. She'd appreciated Bellamy's original efforts to take her out of the room, even if it had resulted in her arrest when things became confusing, but since then she'd been from the cells to the dropship to what was left of the Ark and she still had no idea what was going to happen to them all next. If she could just find somewhere _comfortable_ …  
  
The sound of something moving off to the side distracted her train of thought, Bellamy turning his gun in that direction while Octavia clutched her knife and pistol. As soon as the feral expression of the first man came into clear view, Bellamy was firing his gun at the Reaper, leaving Octavia to take a quick shot at the other men approaching. With her brother carrying the only flashlight, she wasn't able to get a clear view of her targets, but it was enough for her to be sure of hitting them-  
  
As she saw something familiar in the manner of the fourth member of the approaching Reaper 'party', Octavia froze in horror even as her brother shot at the two Reapers she'd just put down.  
  
It couldn't be…  
  
Then Bellamy turned his light and gun directly on to the last Reaper standing, and it was confirmed to be Lincoln.  
  
"NO!" Octavia yelled, instinctively forcing Bellamy's gun upwards so that the bullets hit the ceiling rather than Lincoln. To his credit, her brother stopped firing as soon as he registered who he'd been about to shoot, but that didn't help them as Lincoln lunged forward, grabbing Bellamy's gun and throwing it away before the elder Blake could try and fire something else.  
  
Octavia still had her own pistol and knife, but she couldn't think of anything she could do with them that wouldn't just kill Lincoln; she had no idea what had turned him into this, but there had to be a way out of this that left all three of them alive-  
  
Before she could start to panic, someone suddenly dived into Lincoln from the side, knocking him to the ground with a force so sudden that Octavia was almost shocked _not_ to hear something crack. As she turned to look at her converted… whatever Lincoln was to her… she was momentarily relieved to see him getting back to his feet before she remembered what he had become, only for their mysterious rescuer to punch Lincoln with such force that he literally flew through the air before hitting one of the abandoned cars.  
  
"WAIT!" Octavia yelled, only to be shocked when their 'saviour' turned around and revealed herself to be Anya, the Grounder leader who'd attacked them at the dropship.  
  
" _You_?" Bellamy said, voicing her thoughts as he glared at Anya. "What are _you_ doing saving _us_?"  
  
"My duty," Anya said, her tone cold as she indicated Lincoln. "Just as it is my duty to eliminate him."  
  
"What?" Octavia said, confusion shifting to horror. "No, you can't-!"  
  
"There is no other way," Anya said, turning back to walk towards Lincoln in a purposeful manner. Lost for anything else to do, Octavia ran forwards and leapt onto Anya's back, only to be grabbed by her shirt and hurled to the ground in a single motion. As she struck the ground, Octavia could only look up at Anya in shock-  
  
Was it her imagination, or did Anya look like she was turning _green_ in the torchlight?  
  
Before Octavia had time to take in what had just happened, she was given something else to think about when an unfamiliar figure stepped in, dressed mostly in black apart from what Octavia initially assumed was a gleaming silver glove, holding an axe with a handle that was at least as long as its wielder and a blade the size of her head.  
  
"Can we talk about this before we do anything to piss off a girl desperate enough to plead for a guy's life in that state?" the strange woman asked, glaring at the Grounder leader as she held the large axe to her neck. "And before you start going green, you should know that this axe is probably one of the few things on the planet that can actually cut you, and I'm uniquely qualified to make sure that it would hurt you at the same time."  
  
For a moment, the two women stared at each other intently, but eventually Anya stepped back from the axe.  
  
"We have never found a cure for this other than death," she said, still staring at the woman with the axe.  
  
"No offence, but considering what you've been working with, there are other reasons for that kind of track record," the unfamiliar woman countered, before she turned to grin at the Blakes in a manner that Octavia wasn't sure if she should find disturbing or comforting. "By the way, I'm Bloodaxe; I take it you've met She-Hulk?"  
  
"She-Hulk?" Bellamy and Octavia repeated incredulously.  
  
"As in… the Hulk?" Octavia asked uncertainly. "As in the _Avengers_?"  
  
"You're looking at us," the self-titled 'Bloodaxe' smiled at the Blakes. "Granted, Greenie here's new, but-"  
  
"Oh, come _on_ ; the _Avengers_?" Bellamy practically spat as he looked between the two women. "Those screw-ups couldn't stop the holocaust-"  
  
"Shit happens," Bloodaxe stated, her axe shifting to point at Bellamy while her other hand went to her waist, where Octavia only now realised she had two smaller axes strapped to her thighs. "The originals had their issues, but Mockingjay's made it clear they failed because of extremely exceptional circumstances; we've had a good track record so far, and we're not about to break it."  
  
"So… you're real?" Octavia asked, unable to stop herself smiling as she remembered all the times she'd begged Bellamy to 'play Avengers' when they were children, with her sneaking around their quarters pretending to be the Black Widow while Bellamy acted as one of the other Avengers or even played a villain for her to 'fight'. "The Avengers are back?"  
  
"Oh yeah," Bloodaxe smiled, spinning her large axe in her hand in a manner that helped Octavia realise that what she'd taken as a glove was actually some kind of artificial limb before their saviour turned her attention back to Lincoln. "In the meantime, we've got a few things to deal with even before we get to this guy, so let's get him secured and work out where we're going from here."  
  
This woman wasn't like the Avengers Octavia had heard so many stories about growing up, but as she watched this woman walk over to Lincoln to look him over before pulling him to his feet with her metal arm, she had a feeling that she was going to enjoy learning more about the 'new' team…


	12. The New Plan

By the time Finnick came to pick Clarke and I up, I was already anxious about what we were going to do about this whole mess. The boys that Clarke had identified as Finn and Murphy had accepted my decision to handcuff them both once they'd registered that Clarke was clearly with me of her own free will, but judging by the awkward glances Clarke and Finn kept giving each other, there was definitely something going on there that I didn't know about. Once we were on board the hovercraft, I relocated our two 'prisoners'- as much as Clarke didn't like to think of it that way, she had at least accepted my decision- to the rear section of the ship while Finnick proceeded towards Johanna and Anya's last location, leaving me to look at my new teammate.

"So," I asked, hoping that Clarke wouldn't take this question too personally, "what's your history with them?"

"Murphy was… well, we had some trouble with him when the dropship landed," Clarke explained, as she sat down opposite me, reaching up to remove her helmet even if she kept her current ponytail. "He had a bit of trouble with my friend Wells when we landed here, then Wells was killed by someone else and Murphy was nearly hanged because I thought he did it…"

"Then what happened?" I asked; judging by Clarke's awkward expression, I was willing to guess that she hadn't tried to hang Murphy herself, but this was clearly still an uncomfortable topic.

"He was exiled from camp for a while, came back and nearly infected us with a virus that some of the other Grounders had infected him with, and then he kept lashing out as some of the people who had hung him until he tried to hang Bellamy and shot Raven shortly before… well, everything happened," Clarke said, shrugging awkwardly at me. "As for Finn… we had a… we were friends early on, then he and I were stuck in a bunker during a storm, and…"

"Oh," I said, not seeing the need to make Clarke more embarrassed than she clearly was by giving me more information. "And it ended badly?"

"I ended it when his girlfriend came down in an escape pod to help us regain contact with the Ark," Clarke explained.

"Ah," I said; I didn't need to know much about relationships to know that a situation like that would make things _very_ complicated.

"Raven's good company, don't get me wrong, and it's not like I knew that Finn was dating anyone when we were in the bunker, but…" Clarke shook her head in frustration at her own words.

"It's not your fault," I said, smiling sympathetically at my new teammate.

My experience with relationships might be limited to whatever I'd had with Peeta and Gale, and I still couldn't define what I had with either of them even if they'd both accepted that I wasn't looking for anything right now, but I hadn't heard anything to suggest that Clarke had been anything less than unfortunate enough to make a bad choice under ridiculously complicated conditions.

"I see them!" Finnick called back to us from his position in the pilot's seat (I would do him the favour of assuming that he'd either ignored our conversation or trusted that I would deal with any potential issues that might come up myself). As Clarke and I turned to face the entrance hatch, I felt the hovership lowering towards the ground before the door opened, Anya jumping inside with a grim expression before an unfamiliar young man and woman entered, Johanna bringing up the rear with a large man wearing a strange outfit of fur and leather held over her left shoulder with her metal arm.

"We got anywhere to chain this guy up?" she asked, looking at me with a pointed stare. "This arm might be able to handle the weight, but my shoulder's killing me."

"Who-?" I began.

" _Lincoln_?" Clarke asked, looking at the figure over Johanna's shoulders in shock.

"Wh- _Clarke_?" the boy said, the two of them running over to embrace Clarke as soon as they realised that she was there.

"How did you- what are you _wearing_?" the girl asked, stepping back to look at Clarke with a grin, as though she'd only just realised that Clarke was wearing her Falcon jetpack and wings.

"It's… my uniform," Clarke shrugged, clearly lost for a better description.

"Your 'uniform'?" the boy repeated, before turning around to look at me more directly, as though he'd only just registered that I was there. "And who are _you_?"

"Call me Mockingjay," I said firmly; the concept of my identity being secret back in Panem might be a no-brainer after everything I'd done in the war, but I still felt more comfortable introducing myself to strangers as Mockingjay rather than Katniss. "I lead the Avengers."

"You?" the new arrival said sceptically. "You can't be-"

"I am," I said resolutely; I might doubt myself at times, but I wasn't in the mood to be criticised by someone who couldn't have any idea what I'd been through to get here. "Our pilot is the Mariner, and I can assume that you already know the Falcon?"

"The Falc- _you're_ on the team?" the boy said, looking incredulously at Clarke as he realised who I was referring to.

"Cool!" the girl grinned, eagerly taking in Clarke's new costume before she looked at me. "How do I join?"

"Uh… we're pretty good member-wise right now," I said, the girl's grin suddenly reminded of some of the kids I saw when we went out to the Districts as a team; she might be older than the usual groups I saw playing 'Avengers' in the streets, but she had that same childish enthusiasm about her. "I take it you're… Octavia?"

"Yeah," the girl said, her smile faltering from eager to slightly sheepish. "Sorry, it's just… well, as Bellamy can confirm, I always loved pretending to be the Black Widow when I was growing up…"

"She had to hide most of the time anyway; telling stories about someone who made a living out of hiding seemed like a good idea," the boy who was apparently Bellamy shrugged, looking around the hovercraft with a sheepish expression.

"Hasn't even grown up yet and the saint already has competition, huh?" Johanna grinned over at me.

"Huh?" Octavia asked, looking curiously at me as I glared back at Johanna.

"Mockingjay's sister… well, she's basically the new Black Widow," Clarke explained, awkwardly indicating me and her jetpack as she spoke. "This team's a mix of old and new, really; this thing belonged to an ally of the original Avengers, one of the other members is using an old Iron Man armour they found somewhere, and Mockingjay's shield used to be Captain America's…"

"That's _the_ shield?" Octavia grinned, looking at the shield on my back with a new sense of enthusiasm. "Can I-?"

"We have other matters to discuss now," Anya said, glaring at Octavia before she indicated the man Clarke had identified as Lincoln, who had been tied to a chair by Johanna while the rest of us were talking. "I spared the Reaper because Bloodaxe would not permit me to kill him at the time, but you must understand that there is no hope for him-"

" _Lincoln_!" Octavia yelled, walking over to stand practically nose-to-nose with the older woman. "He's not this 'Reaper' thing; he's _Lincoln_!"

"What he used to be does not matter," Anya said firmly. "He is nothing more than a Reaper now; he must be eliminated before-"

" _NO_!" Octavia yelled, the outraged punch she threw at Anya catching the older woman in the face thanks to surprise more than anything else; even I could see that this girl had no real training in hand-to-hand even if she had a lot of sprit.

"You _dare_ -!" Anya began, glaring at Octavia with a foreboding green gleam in her eyes.

"ENOUGH!" I said, slamming my shield against the wall of the hovercraft to ensure that I had everyone's attention before the situation escalated. Glancing around, I noticed that Clarke had moved slightly to stand alongside Bellamy and Octavia as they glared at Anya, but I was grateful to see that Johanna was standing back and showing no sign of favouring Clarke or Anya if things degenerated into a fight, even if Finnick had turned around and the console was displaying the green 'autopilot' light. "Before this goes any further, can someone please tell me what the _Hell_ a 'Reaper' actually _is_?"

"People who have been corrupted by the Mountain Men," Anya explained grimly, indicating the bound man behind her. "We do not know how, but sometimes, when the Mountain takes our people, we see them again transformed into monsters who eat human flesh and have no memory of who they once were."

"Cannibals?" Finnick asked, turning in his chair to look at Anya in shock. "These mountain guys turn your people into _cannibals_?"

"Reapers," Anya corrected firmly, before she turned her attention back to Lincoln. "We have attempted to find out what was done to them, but attempts to contain captured Reapers have simply ended with their deaths-"

"You _killed them_ -?!" Octavia began in outrage.

"They died on their own accord," Anya said. "Early on, we kept them contained in the hope that they would exhaust their anger and return to us, but such attempts always ended in them collapsing and dying as we watched."

"I can vouch for that," Johanna put in, nodding briefly at Anya as she leant against the wall alongside that large axe of Thor's. "I mean, I can't confirm that's what happens, but she told me pretty much the same thing back in that car park."

"Just to be sure, how long did it _take_ them to die?" Clarke asked, looking uncertainly at Anya. "I take it we're not just talking about them starving to death, right?"

"Each Reaper only lasts a few hours in captivity before they collapse and cease," Anya confirmed grimly. "It has been described as an agonising end by those who have witnessed it, and we have never been able to determine the cause."

"Until now," Johanna put in, glancing at me with a quizzical raised eyebrow. "I was thinking we might want to get Saint Widow in on this?"

"What?" Octavia asked, before her eyes widened in understanding as she turned to me. "Your sister? The _Black Widow_? You're going to-"

"She took the name to reflect her desire to imitate the original Black Widow's stealth techniques; my sister is our healer, _not_ our assassin," I said firmly, staring at Octavia as though I wanted to make sure she understood me before I turned back to Clarke. "You mentioned that your group originally lived in the dropship that brought you to Earth; I take it that ship's not in use any more?"

"No," Bellamy answered for her, looking grimly between me and Anya. "After we had to burn the whole area to the ground using the dropship's engines… well, nobody's interested in staying there long-term any more."

"Right," I said, nodding in thought for a moment before turning back to address Finnick. "We'll get back to the Ark to drop off our prisoners-"

"Prisoners?" Bellamy and Octavia said simultaneously.

" _Later_ ," I said, noting Clarke nodding gratefully at me; her feelings about this situation might be complicated, but she wasn't going to argue with my decisions. "Once we're there, you can leave us to get to the dropship on foot while you and Bloodaxe take… Lincoln here and head back to the compound to pick up Widow and Iron Man. Tell her to bring whatever she'll need to carry out a blood test so that we can work out what the mountain's using to turn people into… _that_ ; we can carry out more detailed tests at the dropship in case things get… well, unpleasant."

"And what about the prisoners?" Finnick asked, indicating the rear of the ship.

"Who are-?" Octavia began.

"Once we're at the Ark, I'll make sure Mom understands that they're to stay under house arrest until we can… work out what to do next," Clarke interjected, a pleading look in my direction telling me that she needed time to work out what she wanted to do before she told the Blakes what had happened.

Personally, I wasn't sure about that decision, but considering my own lack of experience with these people, for the moment I was going to trust Clarke's judgement and trust that she knew the consequences of what she was asking.


	13. The Reaper Cure

The thing that amazed Clarke most about being an Avenger was how quickly she'd settled into the role.

OK, on some level, she couldn't believe that she'd been out of Mount Weather for less than two days and she was already fighting alongside the new Avengers to try and save the Grounders and her own people from whatever Mount Weather was going to do to them, but the rest of her had just… accepted the impossible situation she was facing as though it went without saying. She still wasn't sure if the impulsive plan to try and 'cure' Lincoln of whatever had turned him into a Reaper would work, but if he could be driven this insane this quickly, since Octavia had confirmed that she had only lost Lincoln about a week ago, she had faith that there had to be some kind of external influence responsible for this.

"And… you're sure your sister can help?" she asked, looking uncertainly at Katniss as they approached the Ark.

"She's still in training, but she's been working with the best that the old Capitol has to offer ever since we killed Snow," Katniss said, nodding reassuringly at her new teammate before she turned to Anya. "If we can provide a cure for the Reapers, do you think your commander would be willing to talk before things escalate?"

"If you can cure him," Anya said, her tone making her doubt clear.

" _Hey_!" Octavia said, looking indignantly at the Grounder general. "They're the _Avengers_ -!"

"And we tend to beat things up rather than put our foes through detox, and we don't even know for sure that this is going to work; we'll do our best, but you need to accept that this isn't easy," Katniss noted, fixing Octavia with a brief stare before she turned back to Anya. "Just so you're clear, if it comes to a choice between your people or the Ark, I won't expect you to fight for us if you don't want to, but if you fight against us…"

The silence that filled the hovercraft at that statement said more than words ever could.

Clarke hated to think that this new team she had become a part of was so fragile, but at the same time, she appreciated the fact that Katniss was giving Anya a choice about whether or not to fight with them rather than forcing her to do anything she might not want to do.

"Coming up on the Ark again," Finnick called back to the rest of the team from the front. "Get ready to unload the prisoners!"

"Thanks," Katniss nodded at the Mariner before turning to the others. "Anya, Bellamy, give Finn and Murphy a quick tranq and then take them to whatever passes for a prison here; I assume you know the way?"

"They put me there earlier," Bellamy noted grimly, which at least confirmed Clarke's own theory even if it wasn't the most encouraging news she'd ever heard.

"OK," Katniss said, nodding at Bellamy before she continued talking. "Once we've landed, Mariner and Bloodaxe take Lincoln back to the Avengers compound and collect Black Widow and Iron Man before rendezvousing with us at the dropship; Callie can probably give you the approximate landing coordinates-"

"You don't need to ask her," Octavia said, stepping forward with a firm stare. "I'm going with Lincoln."

"What?" Bellamy said, looking at his sister in shock. "He's-"

"I'm _not_ leaving him," Octavia said firmly. "If he's staying on this thing, so am I."

"He's dangerous-"

"And _I'll_ be here to keep an eye on him until we get home, after which Bread-Boy can handle anything," Johanna interjected, stepping forward with her axe clenched in her remaining hand, raising her metal fist to emphasise her next statement. "Believe me, this thing will do _more_ than enough to keep him down if he tries to eat anyone."

" _Without_ killing him," Clarke and Katniss said simultaneously, the two young women exchanging brief stares at their unexpected moment of synchronicity before Clarke turned back to Finnick.

"Actually, Octavia going with you is probably the best way to get you to that dropship in time," she noted, smiling at the former District Four Victor. "She knows the area, so she can help you track the best route, and she's probably the best qualified to keep Lincoln under control if there's anything of him in there."

"Never complained about having a pretty girl along for the ride," Finnick smiled.

"And I don't count?" Johanna asked.

"You're on the team and I've known you too long; I _can't_ see you as hot," Finnick noted with his usual smirk before he turned back to face the front. "Coming into land at the Ark; everyone out who's getting out."

With that said, the rest of the Avengers moved towards the rear door of the ship, Anya and Bellamny soon rejoining the group at the back with their unconscious prisoners over their shoulders. As soon as the largest door opened, the Avengers filed out into the clearing in front of the crashed Ark, Clarke smiling at the awe on the faces on some of their people before the hovercraft took off once again.

"Clarke?" her mother said, looking uncertainly at her as she walked up to the Avengers. "What are you doing here?"

"We need you to take custody of these two," Katniss said, turning back to indicate Bellamy and Anya and their prisoners. "They've… well, things are complicated."

"What are you…?" Abby began, looking uncertainly at the vanishing hovercraft and the assembled team.

"We… have a lot to deal with," Clarke shrugged awkwardly, lost for any better explanation that she could offer right now. "We just came to leave these two somewhere safe-"

"And contained," Anya interjected firmly, indicating Finn from his position over her shoulder. "This one has committed crimes that must be answered for."

"We aren't sure if Murphy did anything one way or the other, so just keep them locked up without… _doing_ anything," Bellamy added, indicating his own 'prisoner'. "We've got other stuff to do-"

"Excuse me?" Abby said, looking at him indignantly at this lack of acknowledgement to her questions. "You have to-"

"We have things to do," Clarke said firmly. "There's a lot going on that you just don't know about right now, and we're trying to work out the finer details ourselves, so we're going to have to deal with them before we can explain things."

"And I'm supposed to just _accept_ this?" Abby asked. "We're dealing with-"

"Right now, you're dealing with _nothing_ but people feeling anxious about what they've heard; as far we know, nobody who's an actual _threat_ knows about you yet, and we're doing what we can to ensure that the situation doesn't get that far," Katniss said resolutely, as Anya followed Bellamy into the Ark, leaving the Avengers' leader with her newest member as they spoke with the Chancellor. "Believe me, I understand how it feels to have everything in upheaval when you thought you knew what to expect, but you have to believe that we're here to help; we just need to do other things to do that right now."

Looking around the camp at the rest of her people, Abby sighed in resignation as she looked back at the young leader of the Avengers.

"How did you get this kind of responsibility?" she asked.

"I refused to kill someone when the old nation wanted me to and everything started to go wrong," Katniss said grimly. "After that, I was chosen to be the leader of the latest Avengers, and… well, it all worked out from there."

"She's spent the last few months helping to keep the peace in a nation that's still recovering from the end of a major war, Mom," Clarke said, looking defensively at her mother. "Callie spent some time with them learning what they've been through before they recruited me, and… well, it would take a while to give you everything, but I trust them."

Abby sighed as she looked at her daughter, smiling in awkward understanding after a few moments.

"OK," she said at last. "If you think you have to do this… I'll trust you."

"We'll be back as soon as we can be," Clarke said, as Anya and Bellamy returned from the main Ark. "Just keep Finn and Murphy contained until we get back."

She didn't know how long it would take to detox Lincoln, but she had to hope that they'd have the time…

* * *

The only blessing about the uncertain state of grounder society right now was that they didn't have to worry about running into any Grounder patrols. Regardless of what role she'd play if it came to a fight between the Grounders and the Ark, Anya was willing to help them avoid areas where they might encounter any patrols, the team moving along in silence until they reached the dropship.  
  
Actually, Clarke was almost intimidated at seeing how easily she, Bellamy and Katniss all 'deferred' to Anya's expertise in this area. She and Bellamy knew that Anya had experience in this area, but even if Katniss probably recognised the same thing, Clarke was surprised to see how easily the Avengers' leader followed someone else in a situation like this.  
  
Was it a mark of how much the Mockingjay trusted Anya, or how much she _wanted_ to trust the new 'She-Hulk'?  
  
And why did she keep finding her eyes trailing down to Anya's rear…?  
  
The questions were forgotten as she finally caught sight of the original dropship, with the hovercraft positioned beside it at least assuring Clarke that the other Avengers had arrived, even if that left them facing the question of what they could actually _do_ to 'cure' Lincoln. If it was just drugs, it might be possible to help him through the detox, but if it was some kind of surgery or brainwashing…  
  
Her concerns were forgotten as she found herself leading the way into the dropship and saw Octavia looking anxiously at Lincoln, arms strapped to the ceiling in a manner that reminded her of when they'd first held him prisoner, a small blonde girl in a tight black bodysuit anxiously studying a box containing various syringes while another figure in red-and-gold armour stood off to the side.  
  
" _Damn_ …" Bellamy said, staring at Iron Man with a slight smile before he looked back at Clarke. "You know Raven's going to want to check that out, right?"  
  
"Probably," Clarke said, smiling at her friend before she looked back at Iron Man. "Sorry, Raven's… she was kind of our tech in the dropship before the rest of the Ark came down…"  
  
"No worries," Iron Man replied, lifting his visor to reveal the youthful face of the man who'd saved her and Anya from the Mount Weather patrol. "Trust me, _I'm_ still learning everything about this suit; if anyone has any ideas how I can upgrade it, I'm interested."  
  
"Where are the others?" Anya asked, looking curiously around the dropship before her gaze focused on Iron Man.  
  
"Mariner's in the hovercraft in case we need to get away from here on short notice, and Bloodaxe volunteered to stay behind and hold the fort," Iron Man- Peeta, Clarke suddenly remembered his name was- replied, smiling over at the former Grounder general. "Things might be quiet, but we like to make sure that there's always an Avenger available at the facility unless we have a serious crisis that occupies all our attention."  
  
"I see," Anya nodded in understanding.  
  
"Can we focus on this before we start exchanging our personal details and upgrade ideas?" the girl in black said, looking impatiently at the new arrivals. "We've still got to work out what these people from Mount Weather used to drive this man to… well, to make him _this_."  
  
"You haven't found anything yet?" Katniss asked, looking urgently at the small blonde Clarke suddenly remembered was her sister.  
  
"I've been checking blood samples, but I'm having trouble working out what I'm looking at," the new Black Widow said apologetically. "All I can be sure of is that there _is_ something in the blood, but there's no way to be sure if it's the cause or a byproduct of what's been done to him…"  
  
Lincoln suddenly twitched in his bonds, a low growl in his throat, but Peeta raised his gauntlets and Lincoln quietened down, glaring at Iron Man as he did so.  
  
"That was… simple," Bellamy noted, looking between the two in surprise.  
  
"I had to hit him a couple of times while we were getting him here," Peeta said, looking like he actually regretted it as he looked at the other Avengers. "I've been using a low-level blast so that I'm not doing too much focused damage, but he's still lashing out more than I would have expected; he might be feral, but he can't be stupid."  
  
"Maybe it's the lack of recognition?" Clarke suggested. "I mean, from what I've heard about these… Reapers, they seem to go for 'fight' rather than 'flight' in danger, so maybe he's just… so scared of you on some level that the only way he can deal with that is trying to attack?"  
  
"It's possible," the youngest girl noted (Clarke couldn't quite believe that she was a field medic for the _Avengers_ , even if she appreciated that they wouldn't let someone like that on without proof that they could handle themselves). "Whatever was done to him, I don't think he's thinking clearly…"  
  
Lincoln interrupted their conversation when he shook his chains again, glaring in rage at the assembled Avengers for a moment before his gaze shifted upwards as he clenched his jaw.  
  
"He's having a seizure!" the little girl yelled, waving urgently at Iron Man before the other Avenger cut the ties holding him up. As Lincoln fell to the ground, the girl in black moved to hold one arm down while Octavia held down the other, the youngest Avenger reaching up to hold her fingers against the man's neck.  
  
"He's going into shock," the girl said, looking grimly up at the rest of the team. "We have to let him ride it out, and then…"  
  
For a moment, the rest of the team simply watched in silence, Octavia looking particularly anxious while Clarke, Bellamy and Anya exchanged uncertain stares, until Lincoln fell still in front of them.  
  
"It's stopped!" the young girl said, looking up at Iron Man. "Peeta; shock him!"  
  
"Got it," Peeta said, walking over to place his hands on either side of Lincoln's chest before a sudden spark burst from the repulsors. Lincoln jerked for a moment before he fell silent, but then Peeta triggered another shock and Lincoln began breathing again, Octavia crouching down to look anxiously at him.  
  
"Oc… Octavia?" Lincoln said, looking blearily at the former Ark resident before turning to take in the rest of the people in the dropship. "Who…?"  
  
"Later," Octavia said, smiling warmly at Lincoln despite the faint tears in her eyes. "You're OK now…"  
  
Glancing over at the other Avengers, Clarke was glad to see Anya looking at Lincoln in obvious surprise at this turn of events; one case might not set a definitive precedent, but if Anya had been honest, this was probably the first time she had ever seen a Reaper actually return to who they had been before.  
  
It was a small step, but it could be useful in helping them open negotiations with the Grounders' Commander now that Anya knew they actually had something to offer beyond the Avengers…


	14. Meeting the Commander

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In advance, I warn all fans of 'The 100' that languages are not my strong point, so for this chapter and other chapters in Katniss's POV she will just consider Trigedasleng as 'gibberish' while Anya translates, and I'll provide direct translations of it in the non-Katniss chapters.

Once Prim had confirmed that Lincoln was recovering as well as could be expected, it didn't take long for me to allocate our next roles. Prim and Finnick were ordered back to our facility to work on analysing the blood samples Prim had acquired from Lincoln so that we could determine what was actually being used on the Reapers in the first place; even if I wasn't entirely happy about Prim acting as an Avenger, I could still admire how far she'd come in terms of accepting her new responsibilities.

Bellamy was returning to the crashed Ark to let them know what else was going on, but Octavia had insisted that she remain with Lincoln to make sure that there were no side-effects from the Reaper drug, which meant that that I was left with Peeta, Clarke and Anya to deal with our other challenge.

"You wish to speak to the Commander?" Anya said, looking at me in surprise as we stood outside the dropship.

"Yes," I confirmed. "We've already told the Ark that we're here, and Black Widow and the Mariner can update everyone back at our compound, but we need to let your people know what we're up to if we're going to make any progress in dealing with Mount Weather."

"We're all in this together, Anya," Clarke said, stepping forward to look at the Grounder leader with an awkward but reassuring smile. "We get that you started out with your people, and we're not asking you to abandon those loyalties, but you're also an Avenger now."

"And that requires me to lead you all to the Commander?" Anya asked, her expression shifting to a suspicious glare.

"That requires you to trust us just like we're trusting you," I corrected, hoping that I wasn't playing this particular card too quickly. "Anya, in case you hadn't realised it, when you turn into the She-Hulk Peeta's the only person on the team who could realistically hope to do anything to you in a straight fight, and even that's not saying much from what you seem to be capable of."

"So you keep me on your team to tempt me-?"

"We brought you onto the team to help you," I interjected before Anya's temper could rise any further. "You're powerful, but what we're offering you is a chance to use that power to become part of something greater than yourself; you're free to leave and we won't stop you, but you need to understand that if we feel you're abusing that power we _will_ stop you."

"And what would you consider 'abusing' this power?" Anya countered, looking at me with a firm glare. "Assisting your people against mine?"

"Anya!" Clarke interjected, stepping forward before I could respond. "Katniss has already told you that she doesn't consider the Ark residents to be 'her' people; she's only here to try and keep the peace! The Mountain is our enemy, but…"

She paused for a moment, looking at Anya with a tentative expression before she finally nodded resolutely. "I know that our past attempts to talk were a mess, and I'm sorry that my people thought the worst of yours… but doesn't the fact that we're all trusting you with the kind of power that could kill us all earn us _anything_ in return?"

Anya stared at Clarke for a moment before she looked back at me.

"You said that you killed someone with strength similar to myself?" she asked.

"It wasn't easy, but I did it," I nodded.

"And yet you have chosen not to threaten me with that fate," the young woman continued. "Why?"

"Because I never wanted you to join us because we could kill you," I explained. "I want you to join us because you want to help us, not because you're afraid of the consequences."

"I see," she said, looking thoughtfully at me for a moment before she turned to Peeta. "Can he fly without his helmet?"

"Not very quickly," Peeta replied, shrugging apologetically. "It's a matter of friction; I can carry someone safely enough if they're not looking ahead, but I need the helmet to ensure that I can see where I'm going."

"Then you must remove it as promptly as possible so that my people do not mistake you for one of the Mountain Men," Anya said, looking at him firmly before she turned to Clarke and I. "I will travel with Clarke and you can take Mockingjay, but when we land, you must allow me to make the introductions."

"Of course," Clarke nodded.

"Sure thing," I said, Peeta nodding in understanding.

"Good," Anya said, before she walked over to Clarke with a slight smile. "Shall we get going?"

"We'd better," Clarke said, her wings extending from her sides as she allowed Anya to wrap her arms around her neck. As Clarke wrapped her own arms about Anya, she triggered her jets and the new Falcon took off into the air, leaving me to repeat the process with Peeta before we hurtled into the air.

The flight was silent for the next few moments, with the wind hurtling in my ears too loud to allow me to speak to Peeta, but looking ahead, I could see Clarke adjusting her flight, presumably as Anya offered new directions to the camp. Looking down, all I could see were forests and alternating open areas- this part of the country had been allowed to become far more overgrown than anything around Panem- but it wasn't long at our current speeds before Clarke began to descend to the ground once again, Peeta following her example.

As we drew closer to a fair-sized camp in one of the larger clearings, I was surprised at how relatively basic it was; I knew that the Grounders didn't have the resources of Panem, and I expected the Ark to have limited resources, but I was still expecting something larger than this for the Commander.

As my eyes adjusted to the sight before us, Clarke reached the ground in front of a small group of leather-clad warriors, releasing Anya a few metres above the ground before she spun around in an aerial loop that ended as she set herself down beside Anya. By the time Peeta reached the area, most of the grounders immediately around our two new Avengers had already hurried off towards one of the larger tents, leaving the last two to look up in surprise as Peeta landed. I noted the tension in their postures as they looked at Peeta, but it relaxed significantly as soon as he followed Anya's earlier advice and raised his mask. As the two warriors looked curiously between us, Anya uttered a few quick words to them in some unfamiliar language that swiftly calmed them down, looking uncertainly at the three of us even if they were clearly willing to accept Anya's word.

"What did you say?" I asked.

"I explained that you are representatives of the _Skaikru_ and another clan who wish to speak with the Commander," Anya explained. "They will accept that for the moment."

"OK…" I said, nodding in tentative acceptance as I looked around the camp. "This is where your Commander lives?"

"This is a temporary camp," Anya corrected. "The Commander informed me in our last communication that she was preparing to move into position to better assess the potential threat you might pose to the Coalition; this is the most appropriate location for her to establish that position."

"And you knew that already?" Clarke asked curiously. "I mean, you were dealing with me and the rest of the 100 at the dropship before you were captured by the Mountain, and then-"

"The Commander was my second before she was called to her new role," Anya explained. "I know how she thinks and how she will react to situations such as this, including where she will establish her presence."

"Ah," I said, nodding uncertainly before I decided to ask my new question. "So… how did she go from being your _second_ to being the _Commander_? That seems like a pretty big jump…"

"She was chosen by the spirit of the previous commander as all other Commanders were," Anya explained, her tone so direct that a quick glance was all I needed to confirm that Peeta and Clarke shared my scepticism at that idea and were equally united in my decision not to press the issue. "When the time came for her to answer the call, she responded, and was the first Commander to successfully unite all twelve clans under one authority in the Coalition, rather than the simple tentative alliances that have formed in the past."

"Really?" Peeta said, looking at Anya in surprise. "That's… impressive."

"You must be proud of what she's done, then," I said, trying not to fidget as I noticed some of the surrounding Grounders looking uncertainly at the four of us. Anya might be a familiar face to somebody here, but the fact that she was dressed in distinctly non-Grounder clothing and was accompanied by two people capable of flying and one woman wielding strange weapons was bound to raise questions.

"My training has little to do with what she has accomplished, but I am… proud of how well she has done," Anya said, her voice low as though she was slightly ashamed to admit that.

"It's OK to be proud of people you're close to," I said, smiling over at her in an attempt to bond. "I mean, I'm proud of what my sister's done, and I didn't really have anything to do with her medical training."

I was saved from further attempts at potentially awkward conversation when a man came up to us, his long thick beard giving him a slightly menacing manner as he and Anya exchanged a few brief words. I didn't need to understand the language to realise that he didn't like us being here, but Anya's firm tone seemed to put most of his potential arguments to rest before he could get started, and he finally muttered in frustration before he led us to a particular tent in the centre of this small gathering.

As we were shown inside, I allowed Anya to take the lead as we stood in front of a surprisingly sophisticated wooden throne for a society on the Grounders' level, with two guards standing on either side of it. However, the most surprising thing about this discovery was the woman sitting in it; she was clearly in good shape, with a thin but muscular build that reminded me of some of the Careers I'd faced in the Games, but the fact that she seemed to only be a few years older than Clarke and I was completely unexpected. As Anya started to speak with the woman, I exchanged a quick glance with Clarke, but it was clear that Clarke only knew a little more of this language than I did, and certainly not enough to keep up with what we were hearing right now.

After a few moments of heated exchange between the two Grounder leaders, Anya stepped aside and indicated that the three of us should step forward, with Clarke and I moving up to stand directly in front of the throne while Peeta waited behind us, faceplate still up as he looked cautiously at his surroundings.

"You… are not Skaikru?" the Commander asked, looking at me in surprise.

"No, I'm not," I replied, refusing to let myself be intimidated; after standing up to the Maestro when he was fully transformed, I wasn't going to back down when faced with someone only a few years older than me, even if she commanded such a potentially large group even without Snow's advantages. "We come from… another coalition in another part of the country; we were unaware of your existence until recently due to our former leader's control."

"How could one leader restrict your knowledge?"

"He confined everyone in our… coalition… to twelve different areas, restricted us to only what knowledge and items we needed to produce specific resources, limited our ability to communicate with each other, and the only times we ever met was when a group of our children were sent to kill each other as part of an annual competition," I replied; on some level, it was odd not to think myself as a 'child' any more when I still using my reputation from the Games, but as an Avenger I didn't have the luxury of still being a 'kid'. "Iron Man and I attracted a great deal of attention a few years ago when we were the last contestants standing in our Games and refused to kill each other, which sparked off a revolution that led to us forming this team."

"'Team'?" the Commander repeated.

"Think of us as a… hunting patrol for unique threats," Clarke put in, looking at the Commander with a new awkwardness about her manner; evidently she was a lot more intimidated by this meeting than I was. "Mockingjay has exceptional skill with a bow and arrow and her shield is made of the strongest material ever encountered, two of the others are well-known for their experience with other distinctive weapons, and Iron Man… well, he goes without saying."

"And you have joined this… 'team'?" the Commander asked, looking curiously at Anya.

"Things have changed since I was in the Mountain," Anya replied. "I have… changed… in a manner that leads me to conclude that I would be best suited to join them."

"What kind of changes?" the Commander asked. Instead of replying, Anya closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment before her skin turned green and her body began to grow, shrugging off her jacket and trousers before they tore under the strain of the transformation to leave only her purple bodysuit and the gloves and boots.

"This sort of change," Anya replied, her voice notably deeper as the Commander looked at her in surprise.

"How?" the other woman asked, managing to sound only slightly shocked despite the fact that she obviously couldn't have seen something similar before.

"It's complicated to explain; let's just say that we were trying to save Anya's life and there was an unexpected side-effect," I said, hoping that would be enough; I couldn't be sure how much the Commander would understand if I started talking about gamma radiation and blood transfusions, and the last thing I wanted was to cause a misunderstanding at such a crucial moment. "We invited her and Clarke to join the team while we're dealing with the Mountain Men, and she's accepted."

"You will face the Mountain Men?" the Commander asked.

"We don't like what they're doing to your people and we're worried about what they'll do if they get out," I said firmly, as Anya returned to her human form and put her clothes back on. "We know that you have no reason to trust us, but believe me; now that we know about Mount Weather, we're not going to leave them to cause more trouble in the future until we're sure they've been neutralised as a threat."

"And what makes you believe that your aid is wanted?"

"They have found a means of curing the Reapers," Anya said.

The Commander blinked in surprise, prompting a brief exchange in whatever the Grounder language was before they turned back to us as one of her guards left the tent.

"I will release our prisoners and you may return them to your people," the Commander said, before she fixed a particularly intense glare at Clarke and I. "However, there is one condition for this alliance to work."

"Specifically…?" I asked, already apprehensive about what she might ask.

"We have heard that one of the Skaikru was responsible for the deaths of a village near here," the Commander replied grimly. "You must hand over the one responsible for those deaths to our justice."

"Ah," I said, pausing for a moment to make sure that Clarke wasn't about to do or say anything drastic before replying myself. "Can we… have a couple of days to run this by our leaders? You have to understand that we're protectors; we don't have the authority to make that kind of decision ourselves…"

The Commander nodded in acknowledgement before Anya turned to lead us out of the tent, the conversation apparently concluded. As we emerged from the tent, the guard who had left earlier returned, accompanied by two men, one dark-skinned with a greying beard and one with lighter skin and thick black hair.

"Marcus?" Clarke said, looking at the younger man in surprise before her expression became literally incredulous as she took in the older man. " _Chancellor Wells_? Mom told me that you were-"

"I managed to get a rocket working and get back down," the Chancellor said, smiling briefly at Clarke before he turned to look at the rest of us, his expression quizzical for a moment before his gaze fixed on Peeta. "Hold on; _Iron Man_?"

"Yes, we're the Avengers, yes we live on Earth, no we're not part of this Coalition, and this isn't the time to talk about that," I put in; these two men might be leaders among their people, but for the moment I had bigger priorities than filling them in on my team's complicated history. "We've managed to negotiate a peace, but you need to tell everyone at the Ark what's been decided."

I was inwardly surprised at the ease with which I was now attempting to command authority from people who didn't know me by reputation already, but I had to deal with the immediate issues facing us as a team as well as our latest crisis, which meant reporting to Steve and the new Panem government as well.

It was only when Clarke picked me up and started flying back towards our facility that I realised two things; I was already thinking of Clarke and Anya as automatic parts of the team, and neither of them seemed to object to it.

This wasn't going to be easy, but if I could command their respect, I might just be able to pull off the role of leader in my first truly solo crisis…


	15. Authority Issues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As it comes up in this chapter, I should clarify that I will be keeping all revelations about ALIE and the Nightbloods intact in this continuity; the exact circumstances that led to the destruction of Polaris and ALIE's role in the nuclear apocalypse will be 'tweaked' slightly to accommodate the Avengers' history, but it probably won't be covered in depth, and those changes won't affect how things are in the present

As the four Avengers returned to the main compound, Clarke wasn't sure if she should be pleased or shocked at what had just happened.

On the one hand, they'd managed to get the hoped-for treaty with the Grounders, and she had faith that the Avengers would be there to help them mount any kind of attack, but on the other hand, the terms that the Grounders had asked for…

No matter how Finn had lied to her about his relationship with Raven- even if it had just been a lie of omission when he'd had every right to assume he'd never see her again- he didn't deserve to die because he'd freaked out and made one horrific decision.

There had to be _something_ she could do about that, she just needed time to think…

Looking ahead as she approached the Avengers' facility- she'd been mostly following Iron Man, but Clarke was pleased to note that she was starting to recognise a couple of landmarks from this height- Clarke was surprised to see a large black hovercraft on the ground alongside the Avengers' own ship, but soon decided that it wasn't worth worrying about. From what she'd heard about the Avengers' past missions, Bloodaxe and the Mariner could probably handle anything that might have tried to attack them from a ship that size, and the compound seemed to be peaceful enough anyway.

Of course, in what Clarke remembered of novels set before the Ark, when a large black vehicle showed up to talk with any kind of law enforcement, it was probably going to be bad news even if it wasn't an immediate fight.

Hoping that she was just being paranoid, Clarke put on an extra burst of speed to send her and Mockingjay to the ground just ahead of Iron Man and Anya. Almost as soon as they'd touched down, the Avengers' leader was walking towards a particular part of the facility, leaving Clarke to take a brief glance back and confirm that the other two were still coming towards them before she hurried after her leader.

As Mockingjay entered the building, Clarke was surprised to find that the door led immediately into a fair-sized office, with a desk at one end and various pictures on the surrounding walls displaying pictures of the original Avengers. Steve Rogers was sitting behind the desk, a slight tension in his shoulders as he looked at the white-haired woman in some kind of business suit and a young man with dark hair in some kind of armour sitting opposite him.

"Senator Coin?" Mockingjay said, looking at the woman in surprise.

"Hello, Sold- I'm sorry, _Mockingjay_ ," the woman said, smiling slightly at the Avengers' leader before she looked at Clarke, her eyes widening briefly in surprise. "And who is this?"

"You can call her the Falcon," Mockingjay said; Clarke was suddenly grateful that she hadn't taken her helmet off yet. "She's the newest member of the team."

"Excuse me?" the young man said, looking incredulously at Clarke, the older woman stifling her own shocked reaction to the point that Clarke only noticed it because she was looking for it. " _She's_ on the team?"

"I'm on the team," Clarke confirmed, returning the man's incredulous stare with a fixed gaze; she might be unsure about the honour she'd been given by being invited to join the Avengers, but as long as she was here she was going to stand up for herself.

"OK, I'm sorry, but I have to ask; what the _Hell_ , Catnip?" the young man said indignantly, looking at Clarke in shock. "I've been asking to join for- _two_?"

Glancing around, Clarke noticed that Peeta and Anya had entered the door of the hut, which was becoming slightly crowded even if there was still space for a couple more people, with the Avengers symbol on the shoulder of Anya's jacket clearly displaying her affiliation with the team.

"Gale," Katniss said, looking at the other man with a grim sense of resignation about her, "we've been over this; you just aren't Avengers-level at anything."

"So you're picking some _strangers_ over me-?" Gale began, taking a step towards the Avengers' leader before a hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder.

"Do not make me angry," Anya said, her expression cold as she looked at the two new arrivals. "You would not like me when I am angry."

"Trust me, you wouldn't," Peeta put in, smiling around the room with his helmet under his head even as Gale and Coin took an anxious step back. "I've seen her in action, and Anya is _very_ good; she's better than most of the Tributes we've seen, and don't get me started on how she compares to some of the soldiers."

"I see," Coin said, looking quizzically at Anya. "And how did you come by these skills?"

"I survived," Anya replied firmly.

"Anya was the leader of one of the tribes I told the government about in my report," Steve put in, smiling slightly as Coin turned to look at him in shock. "Long story short, I felt that we needed a voice from those tribes to represent their views in the future of the Avengers considering the scope of their territory, and since her tribe was… lost… before we met her, it was decided that Anya would make a good candidate for membership."

"Some primitive-?" Gale began, only to cut himself short when Peeta turned one arm slightly to reveal a glowing repulsor in his palm.

"Like she said," the baker-turned-Avenger said with a brief shrug as he turned his palm back towards himself, "you don't want to make her angry."

"You don't have the authority to do this, Soldier Rogers," Coin said, looking at the old man with a grim smile of her own despite the brief exchange between her guard and the Avengers. "The original agreement stated that you would follow my orders-"

"That 'agreement' only applied when we were operating on a war footing and you were the only person with the suitable authority to help me protect the relics," Steve countered. "What I do now, I do as the coordinator of the Avengers for the sake of Earth; I'm not District Thirteen's military consultant, and I don't owe you any specific allegiance now that you're not President. I'm grateful for what you and your predecessors did for me, but right now I have to prioritise what works best for the people."

"And getting us involved in another conflict will do that?" Coin asked. "We're still working on rebuilding to any serious degree after everything Snow did before your team stopped him; we don't have the time or resources to deal with another war-"

"You're not fighting a war; we are," Katniss corrected, indicating the other Avengers. "We're an elite strike force trying to keep the peace, and keeping that peace means that we're going to help the Ark and the Coalition deal with the threat posed by Mount Weather-"

"You've just told us that there are at least three new civilisations out there, and the first thing you're planning to do is go to war with one of them," Coin said, glaring back at Mockingjay, even if there was an edge to her tone that made it clear she didn't entirely believe her own words. "If you expect us to support this, you need to accept our own authority-"

"You don't _have_ any authority," Peeta countered. "Or are you forgetting what Steve _just_ told you?"

"If you'll remember, I made it clear before the elections that the Avengers cannot become political figures," Steve continued. "The moment we allow officials to tell us what to do, we create the risk that others will try to counter us by creating their own superhumans, and the circumstances that gave the team their abilities could easily result in horrific mutations at best. We _have_ to remain independent, which means that we're at liberty to get involved in dealing with any threat to innocent life on a large scale."

"And that independence means that you don't dictate our membership, Senator Coin," Katniss put in, looking firmly at the older woman. "The Avengers aren't something you can buy or bribe your way onto; if you don't have the skills to be offered a place on the team, you'd be endangering yourself and everyone relying on you in a fight, and the team would just be weaker rather than anything else."

"You weren't that much better than me-!" Gale cut in.

"It's not just a question of skill, it's a question of _attitude_ ," Katniss said, looking at Gale with a solemn expression that Clarke couldn't identify. "Gale, I've told you before; you're just… I know that you have your reasons for feeling that way, but you're just too _angry_ for me to trust you on the team."

"Damnit, catnip, I was there for you _before_ all this 'Avengers' crap-!" Gale began, taking a step forward before Anya was suddenly standing between the young man and her new leader, a firm glare in her eyes that was only reinforced by the slight green tint they'd suddenly developed.

"I believe that Mockingjay informed you that she does not wish for you to join the team," Anya said firmly. "If you do not have what it takes, that is your problem."

"And if you bring us to Mount Weather's attention, what happens then?" Coin asked. "We can't fight another war-"

"We aren't asking you to fight our war," Clarke interjected, looking firmly at the older woman; she might have only learned the essential details of this society's history, but she'd gathered enough to feel uncomfortable at the idea of this woman having any authority over the Avengers. "We're asking you to let _us_ fight our war."

"'We'?" Gale said, walking over to glare at Clarke. "You get a fancy suit and you think you deserve to be an Avenger-?"

"I don't if I deserve this, Gale; what I _know_ is that the first Avenger and the leader of the Avengers decided that Anya and I would be good additions to the team, so we're here," Clarke said, hoping that the moment of weakness she'd shown wouldn't turn out to be a mistake later.

"And before you suggest anything," Katniss cut in, "we were already committed to helping Clarke and Anya's people _before_ they were invited to join us; the fact that they're good additions to the team just makes it easier."

"You can't just go around diving into every little problem; you're needed here-!"

"We're the Avengers, Senator Coin," Peeta added with a slight smile. "In case you forgot, our job description states that we're _Earth's_ mightiest heroes; we're not just here to save Panem."

"And we're _not_ needed here right now," Katniss corrected the older woman. "We're going to remain on call if something comes up, but as it stands, Snow's largest loyalist groups have been defeated or contained, and anyone left in Panem that might be a threat just doesn't have the resources to do anything to us right now. Mount Weather is a former military stronghold with nuclear weapons whose residents apparently think they have the right to take Earth's surface regardless of who suffers in the process; if we don't stop them now, we've heard enough to be sure that they'll take more decisive action when they're ready to get out."

"And if you're just making another threat aware that we're here?" Coin countered.

"Then we'll stop that too," Katniss said resolutely. "I have faith in Clarke and Anya, Senator; with their help, we _can_ stop things before they go too far."

Clarke didn't need to know this woman to know that Senator Coin wasn't happy about that declaration, but her frustrated glare was tempered by the glances she kept shooting in Steve's direction; even if she didn't like the man Clarke still couldn't quite believe had been the world's first Avenger, this woman evidently knew that arguing with him would be a waste of time.

"Very well," she said at last, nodding in resignation. "I will… inform the council of your current situation."

"What?" Gale said, looking sharply at Coin before he registered the pointed glare he was receiving from Anya and decided to stay quiet, simply following Coin out of the room.

"Well… that was awkward," Clarke said, smiling in a weak attempt to lighten the mood. "Who were they?"

"Senator Coin used to be President Coin; she was in charge of District Thirteen, and basically the political leader of the revolution that ended when we killed President Snow," Peeta explained. "She ran for President of the new unified Panem once the war was over, but she didn't win; she's still got some influence, mainly because she was able to get a role acting as our liaison to the government, but she's always subtly implied that she thinks we were the reason she lost, because the Avengers wouldn't endorse her candidacy."

"Endorse her candidacy?" Anya repeated.

"We didn't say that we thought she'd make a good leader."

"And that made a difference?"

"We wanted to make sure that the entire nation chose who they thought would be the best candidates for the job," Katniss shrugged, looking curiously at Anya. "Don't you elect your leaders?"

"Leaders for the twelve clans are chosen based on their skill as warriors and hunters, and the Commander is chosen only from the Nightbloods," Anya explained.

"Nightbloods?" Katniss asked, before she shook her head and held up a hand to stop Anya's reply. "Unless it's going to make a difference to this alliance right now, it's not important; we've got enough to worry about right now."

"On the topic of the alliance," Steve smiled at the four of them, "how are things with the Coalition?"

"They are intrigued at your offer," Anya said, speaking for the small group before anyone else could say a word. "I have vouched for your ability to cure the Reapers, and the Commander is willing to work with the Avengers and your own forces to coordinate an assault on the Mountain… with certain conditions."

"Ah," Steve said, standing up from behind the desk with a sigh. "In that case, we should probably get the rest of the team together; considering the scale of what we're trying to do, I think I can safely assume that we all need to hear this."

* * *

Sitting around the briefing room, Clarke tried not to feel too intimidated at the gathering; even if she was an official Avenger, it still felt unnerving to be sitting at the head of a table with Earth's Mightiest Heroes, when she'd only been an amateur medic and technically juvenile delinquent struggling for survival after escaping Mount Weather a few days ago.  
  
OK, so this wasn't the entire Avengers team- she still hadn't been introduced to Thor, and Prim/Black Widow was apparently busy with some tests she was carrying out on Lincoln- but the fact that Callie was there seemed to make up for that; considering that Clarke had spent years looking up to Callie, the idea that she was now the one in authority just felt… _weird_.  
  
"Let me get this straight; they'll agree to the alliance if we hand over this 'Finn' guy?" Finnick asked.  
  
"Blood must have blood," Anya said grimly.  
  
"Nice philosophy," Finnick mused. "And what happens if they ask for more-?"  
  
"They will not," Anya said. "All they wish is to avenge the eighteen people he killed."  
  
"OK, let's tackle this issue step by step," Johanna put in, looking curiously at Callie. "Firstly, have you heard of this 'Finn' guy?"  
  
"I read a few reports about his original arrest, but that's about it," Callie confirmed. "There was some suspicion about his arrest, actually- he claimed responsibility for an unlicensed spacewalk when he'd never shown any interest in doing something like that himself- but there was no real reason to look into what had happened at the time, so we didn't."  
  
"Raven…" Clarke smiled in understanding.  
  
"Raven?" Anya asked.  
  
"She was… basically, she was our tech expert for a while," Clarke explained. "She worked on maintaining the Ark's technology when we were in space, and then she helped us develop some equipment here on Earth, such as… well, she helped us make new bullets before our confrontation on the bridge when we met, as well as get in touch with the Ark in the first place."  
  
"And what does she have to do with this?" Johanna asked.  
  
"She and Finn were dating up on the Ark. Raven just turned eighteen a short while ago, and she only started working around the time that Finn was arrested, based on what I've heard about their pasts; if she went on a spacewalk before she was officially authorised, he could have taken the credit for it to save her life."  
  
"Because… he wouldn't have been eighteen, so he wouldn't have been floated immediately?" Katniss asked.  
  
"Exactly; he could have even been released if he had made a good argument at an appeal trial," Clarke nodded, before she turned to Katniss and Steve. "Anyway, that's not important right now; what matters is what can we do to save him?"  
  
"Couldn't we make them back down?" Finnick asked. "I mean, we're the freakin' _Avengers_ -"  
  
"We can't exactly tell them that we're not going to help them stop Mount Weather if they kill Finn," Katniss said. "The Avengers are heroes; we can't make our help conditional."  
  
"That's the real problem with this whole situation," Steve sighed. "As I told Senator Coin, the Avengers can't be politically motivated, but unfortunately, that means that we can't get involved in legal proceedings."  
  
"Excuse me?" Johanna asked, looking sharply at him.  
  
"I'm not saying we can't act as witnesses or be subject to legal proceedings, I just meant that we can't _interfere_ in them."  
  
"I get it," Finnick nodded grimly. "If we start stepping in and demanding certain verdicts if we don't approve of the most likely outcome, how long until we become like Snow?"  
  
"We _wouldn't_ -!" Peeta began.  
  
"No, he's right," Clarke said, shaking her head grimly as she looked at the former baker. "We all like to think that we won't go that far, but speaking as the person who's tried to form a new society from an old one when the dropship came down, it's all too easy to start repeating the old mistakes once you get started."  
  
"And that means we just accept their request to basically torture this guy to death?" Peeta asked. "I'm not defending what he did, but he was under a lot of stress, and from what you've told us he'd never have done something like that normally-"  
  
"So the fact that he went nuts for a bit is a reason to let him off for murder?" Johanna asked.  
  
"I'm saying we should take it into account rather than condemn him for something he'd never have done-"  
  
"And what's the other option?" Johanna asked. "Hand over some other schmuck to die in his place? I get that I _chose_ to call myself Bloodaxe, but I'm not here to kill people just because I like it!"  
  
"Which is why we need this alliance," Katniss said. "We might have Thor and Anya, but we can't just smash the mountain open without killing even the people in there who might want to help us; if we're going to bring it down, we need a plan that goes beyond just overwhelming force."  
  
"Which means finding a way to get as many people attacking it as possible," Clarke sighed grimly; she understood why the rest of 'Panem' couldn't get involved in this problem, but that didn't stop it being frustrating.  
  
"And that's not our only problem," Prim put in, as she walked grimly into the room.  
  
"We have more?" Finnick asked, giving the youngest Avenger an awkward grin. "What now?"  
  
"I just finished my first wave of tests on Lincoln's blood sample," the young girl explained. "I don't know how it got in there, but I found gamma radiation in his system."  
  
"So?" Clarke asked. "We knew from Anya that there was some gamma radiation out there-"  
  
"Not in levels like this," Prim corrected. "I already ran a DNA test and managed to confirm that he doesn't have the gene sequence Captain Rogers tentatively identified as the key to allowing Anya and Bruce to transform into Hulks. There's too much gamma radiation in there for it to be regular exposure, there's too little for it to actually trigger a transformation, but there's no way he could have been exposed to something that could do this to him and still be alive; the only way there could be this much gamma radiation in Lincoln's blood without him actually transforming is if he was injected with it."  
  
"Injected?" Clarke repeated. "Why would someone do that?"  
  
"Some kind of drug?" Finnick asked. "From what you've told us about the state he was in, those Reaper guys sound fairly tough; if gamma radiation always makes people tough and angry, maybe these mountain guys use it in some kind of controlled dosage to make them tough enough to be a problem without making them so strong that they could turn against their masters."  
  
"But how could they have access to gamma-irradiated blood?" Peeta asked. "You said that Bruce was the only person-"  
  
"Because I really hoped that the other guy was dead," Steve said, groaning in frustration as he leaned over to rest his head against the table.  
  
"There was _another_ Hulk?" Finnick asked, looking sharply at Steve.  
  
"Not exactly," Steve said, sitting up with a grim expression.  
  
"How 'not exactly'?" Johanna asked.  
  
"Believe me, if you thought Snow was bad, this guy's worse," Steve said grimly. "I'm not denying that he did terrible things, but at least Bruce went through horrors of his own before he resorted to inflicting them on others; Emil Blonsky had no reason to snap and he ended up tearing through a New York district when he first got his powers just because he could…"  
  
"Emil Blonsky?" Clarke asked. "That was his name?"  
  
" _Is_ his name," Prim said, swallowing slightly as she looked around the table. "Based on the amount in Lincoln's system, it was too potent to be taken from even a well-preserved corpse, and we know from Snow that gamma mutations can include an extended lifespan."  
  
"I am… long-lived?" Anya asked.  
  
"Possibly; we… still need to work out the extent of your transformation," Katniss put in, before turning back to Steve. "So what makes this… Blonsky different from the Hulk?"  
  
"Blonsky was a trained soldier and combat veteran who was selected by General Ross to be part of the team assigned to hunt Bruce down a few years before he joined the Avengers," Steve explained solemnly. "As part of that, once Ross witnessed Blonsky's skill and learned of his preference for fieldwork, he arranged for Blonsky to be injected with a prototype version of the serum that was used to create me, which accelerated his speed and his ability to heal, but had some kind of warped effect on his mind. When Ross's team managed to capture Bruce, Blonsky forced a scientist Bruce had been working with while trying to cure himself to inject him with a sample of Bruce's blood, which combined with the proto-serum to turn Blonsky into… well, after he was defeated by Bruce's first semi-controlled use of the Hulk, everyone referred to him as 'the Abomination'."  
  
"Not pretty, huh?" Johanna asked.  
  
"Bits of his own skeleton were sticking out of his skin, including his spine."  
  
"…Yeah, that's gross," the one-armed ex-lumberjack acknowledged.  
  
"And you think he's in Mount Weather?" Clarke asked.  
  
"We lost track of where he was being imprisoned after SHIELD fell, so it's not impossible to assume that he was in Mount Weather when the nuclear missiles were launched," Steve explained, his tone grim as he looked around at the rest of the team. "If Mount Weather have access to Emil Blonsky and are using him to create the Reavers…"  
  
"It's safe to say that this just became an even more Avengers-level problem," Katniss finished for him.  
  
Looking around the table, Clarke felt the new weight of the burden facing them.  
  
They weren't just up against a desperate race of people trying to survive on Earth's surface; if the Mountain had access to something that had once fought the Hulk, no matter what state he was in now, this upcoming fight was almost certainly going to become _very_ complicated…


	16. The Judgement of Finn

Sitting in the back of the Quinjet, I wondered if I was ready for what we were about to do.

After spending the last couple of hours talking about Mount Weather and the proposed alliance with the Grounders, in the end, the best that we could do at the time was defer the decision so that we could talk with Clarke's own people and give them a choice in the situation. With the mounting evidence that Mount Weather had access to the only man who'd ever given the Hulk a direct physical challenge, it was clear that we couldn't leave them to gather more power or get a clearer idea what they were working with, but that didn't mean that we liked what we were about to do.

I had never kidded myself that being an Avenger would make everything easy, but I supposed I'd grown too used to riding on my reputation as the Mockingjay to get what I wanted outside of a fight and only having to confront a problem by beating it into the ground. I'd fought to stop Snow to end the war and ensure that the Hunger Games would never happen again; I'd never expected to find myself in a position where I was basically handing someone over to be killed.

The worst part was that I could see both sides of the situation. If I'd agreed with Clarke that Finn should be given a pardon for what he'd done because he'd basically suffered a mental breakdown, I could have felt more comfortable going in with a clear plan, but at the same time I could understand why Anya and her people wanted revenge/justice for what he'd done to that village before Clarke had found him…

Still, even if things were complicated where Finn was concerned, I could at least be sure that Lincoln and Octavia were recovering nicely enough. The former Reaper was apparently doing well, but Prim had insisted on keeping him in the medical wing for a couple of days to make sure that there weren't any side-effects from all the gamma radiation that had been injected into him, and Octavia had made it clear that she would stay by his side until he was well enough to return to the Ark with her. Prim had estimated that it should only take him a day or so until he was well enough to move- she had him on a few transfusions and purging equipment to clear his system of any remaining toxins from the Abomination's blood- but she preferred to be safe rather than sorry.

With the Panem Government now aware of our situation, and therefore aware that we wouldn't be able to respond to anything as quickly as we might before, it had been decided that this was as good a time as any to introduce the Ark- and from them the 'Grounders'- to the full force of the modern Avengers (Prim staying behind didn't matter as I was hopeful that we wouldn't need 'Black Widow' for the current crisis, considering the risk of her finding the Abomination if she tried to sneak into the mountain). Steve had even decided to come with us, leaving my mother to basically deal with any calls for us that might be received before we got back; considering the scale of what was being discussed, we had all decided that his input would be needed even if he insisted that I was still the leader of the team.

"We're coming in," Finnick said at last, breaking the silence that had settled over us as the hovercraft began to descend towards its destination. On cue, the team stood up and moved to gather around the cockpit area, staring as we drew in closer to the remnants of the Ark, still battered but otherwise already showing a marked improvement from the wreck it had been on my first visit. As the ship came to a halt, the door opened and I led the way out, Clarke immediately behind me followed by the rest of the team, Finnick putting the ship on lockdown before he joined us.

Looking at the various people standing around outside the 'building' where our meeting was about to take place, I was suddenly grateful that we'd already sent a message on to the Ark to tell them about the Coalition's terms for the alliance. Granted, I had no way to _know_ that Jaha and Kane had reached here before us, but I was optimistic that they had, if only because it saved me having to worry about everyone's reaction to learning about the terms of the alliance directly; Clarke and Callie had handled it well enough, but at least I knew that they believed in me.

"Hello," I said, nodding grimly at the assembled former Ark residents. "We're… here to talk to your Chancellor?"

"We'll take you," a young man said, stepping out with a gun in his hand and two others on either side of him. It took me a moment to recognise Bellamy Blake, now that he looked a bit cleaner and was wearing what looked like a security uniform, but once I identified him I quickly saw that the other boy was Murphy, although the dark-haired woman with the brace around her left leg was unfamiliar.

"Raven?" Clarke said, looking awkwardly at the girl with the brace. "You're walking?"

"Your mom," Raven said (Now that she'd mentioned the name, I recalled Clarke talking about 'Raven' as the unofficial mechanic for her group before they were abducted; I just hadn't asked for more information at the time to help me focus on the main problem). "She just couldn't treat _all_ of the nerve damage."

"Ah," Peeta said, as we followed the three teenagers into the Ark, the group of people outside looking at us curiously even if they seemed to have been ordered to remain out of the upcoming meeting.

"How's Octavia?" Bellamy asked.

"She's fine," I smiled in understanding. "She's just staying with Lincoln while my sister keeps an eye on him; the… drugs… that turned him into that really took a lot out of him, so we're keeping him under observation until we know he'll be all right."

"Good," Bellamy said, before wincing slightly. "I mean that Lincoln's OK, not-"

"We get it," Peeta nodded, before his gaze shifted to where Murphy and Anya were looking at each other in a particularly grim manner.

"You have a weapon," Anya said, glancing at the gun in Murphy's hand.

"And you're an Avenger," Murphy countered with a brief shrug. "Guess we've all gone up in the world, huh?"

"Let's… not get into that now," Peeta put in, stepping forward to stand between the two before Murphy could say anything else; only the slight hum of his repulsors gave away that he was preparing to fight if things went wrong. Evidently Murphy recognised when he shouldn't push his luck as he stepped back and moved to the rear of the group, simply giving Steve a curious glance without asking any questions as Peeta raised his face-plate, giving everyone a chance to see his face while making it easy for him to leap into action if things turned ugly.

"So," Raven said, looking coldly at us after we had spent a few moments walking down the corridor in silence, "you're the guys who want to hand Finn over?"

"Don't shoot the messengers, Miss Reyes," Finnick smiled at the girl in the manner that had made him the Capitol's darling before their true agenda was exposed.

"And we don't _want_ to hand him over; they made the demands and we're just… going over all options," I said defensively.

"Right," Raven said, before looking at the rest of the team before her gaze focused on Johanna's metal arm. "Holy shit, what happened to _you_?"

"Our first big threat crushed my old arm," Johanna shrugged, before indicating the girl's left leg. "If we're discussing war wounds, what happened to you there?"

"Bullet to the spine," Raven said grimly. "Abby got it out, but like I said, there was still some nerve damage."

"Ouch," Johanna said sympathetically.

"Can we just… talk to your leaders?" I asked, even as I made a note to have Prim or my mother take a look at Raven's spine once this was all over. I didn't know the full details of what our salvaged medical technology from the Capitol was capable of, but if they could repair most of the scars old Victors had suffered in the Games, it didn't seem implausible that they could do something with Raven's leg.

"Sure," Bellamy said, nodding as he turned to walk down a corridor, followed by my team. As we walked into the conference room where I'd spoken with Clarke and her mother earlier, I wasn't entirely surprised to see the woman in question already sitting at the other end of the table, although Jaha and Kane were a slight surprise.

"We're here," I said, looking at the grim faces of the three-man Ark council at the other end of the table.

"Well," Johanna grinned nonchalantly, "don't everybody thank us at once."

"You're… kids?" Kane said, looking at us in surprise; I told myself not to be offended at the implication that he'd assumed I was a 'junior' Avenger when we met earlier.

"Believe me, we haven't been 'kids' for a long time," Finnick said, his usual smile gone as he looked grimly at the other man. "I had to act as a _prostitute_ for our old government to keep my wife safe, Johanna lost her entire family because she wouldn't play ball, and you don't want to know what Katniss and Peeta had to go through to get to where we are."

"You were a prostitute?" Kane asked.

"Like I said," Finnick countered, his manner unusually grim for his usual approach, "you don't want to know."

"I'm… sure you've been through a lot, but…" Aby began, before she finally registered Steve as he stood behind us, his aged features standing out against the youthful faces of the rest of the team. "And you are?"

"Steve Rogers," Steve smiled, nodding politely at Abby. "You may know me as Captain America."

I fought the urge to smile as all three of the Ark leaders stared at Steve in shock at that last statement.

"…You can't be Captain America," Jaha said at last. "He would have died over two centuries ago-"

"Almost did, actually," Steve interjected with a grim smile. "It took another period in suspended animation, a mass of artificial organ replacements designed by the original Iron Man, and the fact that the serum makes things easier to get me to this point, but it's me."

"Oh my God…" Abby said, staring at Steve incredulously before she looked at me. "Why didn't you tell me you had the original Avenger-?"

"I think I can guess where this is going, so I'll stop you right there," Steve interjected, holding up a firm hand. "Despite what you might think, I am not the leader of the Avengers."

"What?"

"Believe me, I understand your reasoning, but it's flawed," Steve explained. "These days I act as the administrator and tactical advisor for the team, but even with the serum giving me a boost, I'm in no state to go into the field, and this isn't my world anyway."

Still looking at the three Ark leaders, Steve walked forward slightly to place his flesh hand on my shoulder, looking at the three before us with a firm stance. "This is the world that Mockingjay grew up in, and this is the world she has sworn to protect; _she_ is the leader."

"Really?" Kane said, looking at me like he was still trying to decide if he should be incredulous or impressed.

"But… but you're _Captain America_!" Doctor Griffin said, looking at Steve in shock.

"And America isn't here any more," Steve replied solemnly. "I'm proud to say that I brought this team together, but it's not my place to decide what kind of world they should rebuild; if I tried to force them to rebuild America just because it's the world I liked, I'd be no better than Schmidt or Loki, forcing my view on the world when I don't like what I see. Mockingjay lived in this world, so I trust her to know what it needs where it matters the most; whatever you might think of her, _she_ is the leader."

Once again, I was impressed at the respect that Steve could command when he wanted it; these three had only grown up with distant stories of when his team failed, and they still respected him even as he told them to defer to someone else.

"All… all right," Abby said at last, nodding solemnly at the seven Avengers and our small guard as we all sat at the table. "So… who are you all?"

"You've already met Clarke and Mockingjay, of course," Steve said, indicating the two of us before he continued. "Allow me to also introduce Iron Man, Bloodaxe, the Mariner, and She-Hulk."

"She-Hulk?" Abby repeated, looking at Anya in shock. "You-you're a _Hulk_?"

"You never mentioned _that_ -?" Jaha began, looking sharply at Clarke.

"It's new," Clarke and I said almost simultaneously.

"It's a combination of all the residual radiation she and her ancestors have taken into their systems since the war, a transfusion from me, and I think she has a distant blood tie to the original Hulk," Steve put in, even as I looked over at Anya to confirm that she didn't mind us talking about her when she was in the room. "We're as sure as we can be that it's not something that can be passed on, and we didn't set out to change her in that manner, but as long as she's here, she's on the team."

"After all," Johanna said, tapping her metal arm, "when the last gamma-powered psycho we fought did _this_ to me, we'd be stupid to turn down a chance to work with another one."

"A Hulk did that to you?" Kane asked.

"He called himself the Maestro, actually," I put in; I wasn't going to tarnish Bruce's memory any more than Snow had done already. "But yeah, he crushed Johanna's arm in our final battle, and some of our… allies… were able to create that new one."

"One of you lost an arm in your first fight-?" Jaha began.

"And we've since cleared out several remaining enemy strongholds with just the four of us and the occasional 'boost' from Thor," I cut in. "Trust me, we can handle this."

"Thor's alive?" Kane asked, looking at me in surprise.

"He was seen as a god once; even if he's just an advanced alien, the end result is that he doesn't die easily," Finnick smiled. "He's a bit busy back on Asgard these days now that he's king of the place, but he's available if we need an extra oomph."

"And we're going to need that here," I said, looking grimly around the table. "Apart from their known soldiers, the Reapers, and that acid fog thing, we've recently learned the disturbing information that the inhabitants of Mount Weather are creating the Reapers using the blood of Emil Blonsky, AKA the Abomination."

"The who?" Bellamy asked.

"If you've heard of us, I take it you've heard of the Hulk and what he was capable of?" I asked, giving Bellamy a moment to nod in confirmation before I continued. "The Abomination once nearly beat the Hulk to death."

To his credit, Bellamy just blinked at that statement, even if he was clearly shaken at the proclamation.

"So… Mount Weather has their own Hulk?" Jaha asked.

"If they're using his blood to create the Reapers but haven't deployed him against the Coalition yet, I can't be certain he'd be willing to fight for them if he was released, but I equally doubt he'd be willing to fight for us," Steve explained. "When he got his powers, he went on a rampage through a large portion of New York just because he could; we have to assume that he's a threat if things turn ugly, which means we're going to need Anya's strength."

"Which means we're going to need the Grounders to mount this kind of assault," Clarke finished.

"Don't you have your own army?" Jaha asked, looking at the assorted Avengers. "I appreciate that you're… very good at your job, but if your people are more advanced-"

"We're also still working to rebuild an entire social structure after almost a century living under the thumb of a superhuman psychopath," Steve said, indicating his artificial arm. "Believe me, I'd be using every favour I'm owed to get our army over here to help you if I thought it would help, but right now we don't have the resources to spare to go after Mount Weather on that scale.

"Besides," Finnick put in, now leaning back in his chair as he spun his trident in an outstretched hand, "you don't _need_ an army; you've got us."

"Children," Jaha said simply.

"They are 'children' who have already killed a nigh-on indestructible psychopath and been protecting this country for the last few months as an elite strike force," Steve countered. "If you can't respect them, then get out of my sight."

The cold condemnation in Steve's tone was more than enough to put Jaha off his argument, the room sitting in silence for a moment until the former Chancellor of the Ark broke it.

"Look… in the end, respecting local rules isn't the issue here," he said. "If we let a child get slaughtered-"

"OK, you want to start acting all indignant about that, don't shoot a hundred teenagers down to Earth in the first fucking place," Johanna cut in, glaring at Jaha. "You didn't care whether they lived or died _then_ , so don't act like you can start worrying about one just because you've got the space. It's easy to be moral when you've got it easy; the reason Mockingjay there's in charge is because she _never_ took the simple option to save her own ass."

I was so touched by Johanna's sudden statement of faith in me that I suddenly realised that she had even phrased it in the best possible way. I'd tried to play Snow's game when he'd threatened other people, but when it was just me on the line, I'd always stood up to put myself at risk to do what I felt had to be done, whether it was saving Prim, not killing Peeta, or trying to save Peeta, even before I'd become an Avenger.

"Besides," Steve said, "now that you're on the ground, you're going to have to adapt; whatever you thought while you were on the Ark, you're coming here to rejoin society, not to rebuild it."

"He's right," Clarke nodded. "We're just going to piss everyone off if we try and enforce our standards on them; if we're going to live here, part of that means respecting local laws."

"OK, why is nobody saying that we do this the easy way?" Raven suddenly cut in firmly. "We give them Murphy."

" _Excuse_ me?" Bellamy and Murphy said, both glaring over at the injured mechanic.

"They were both there; nobody's going to know the difference-"

" _No_ ," I said firmly, standing up to draw attention to me before Anya could react. "We're not going to save one person by handing over another; if you're going to trade lives like that, you might as well _let_ Mount Weather finish their work."

"What?" Bellamy looked at me in confusion.

"Mockingjay's right," Clarke said, her stance firm despite the tremor in her voice; I had to give her credit for accepting my point despite her emotional investment in this topic. "The whole reason we're rallying against Mount Weather is because they've decided they're more important than us; if we start deciding one life is worth more than another, we're doing what we resent them for."

"And how's what _they're_ asking us to do any better-?"

"Because the Coalition want to avenge those killed by Finn's actions according to their legal system; you just want to hand Murphy over because you don't like him," Steve said, looking solemnly at Raven. "I understand your feelings, Miss Reyes, but that doesn't change the facts of the situation; Finn killed eighteen people of his own free will, and he has to face some kind of punishment for that."

"Couldn't we just… say _we're_ going to put him on trial?" Kane asked uncertainly. "If we punished him ourselves-?"

"My people would not accept that," Anya interjected. "Your judgement of the situation would be doubted given your past views on my people; _we_ must judge him."

"When you already know what the sentence is going to be?" Raven asked bitterly.

"If death has no cost, life has no worth."

"Fair way to look at it," Johanna nodded at Anya before looking at Kane. "No offence, but _I_ wouldn't trust you to be fair right now and I'm trying to like the guy they want to kill."

"You're judging Finn for something he wouldn't-!"

"Believe me, we talked about that back at your base," Johanna continued, her tone unusually solemn as she looked at the younger woman. "We get that he wouldn't have gone that far is he was thinking clearly, but we can't just let him go off scot-free for killing eighteen people because he went a bit nuts."

"I can't send a child to his death-!"

"We're not asking you to," Steve said, looking sympathetically at Abby. "We're asking you to respect the justice system down here and let the Coalition have what they want."

"You're the _Avengers_ ; can't you just-?"

"Our help is not conditional," I said firmly, reaching over to place a hand on Anya's shoulder before she did something we'd all regret later, even as I looked at Kane to make sure he understood what I was about to say. "And Clarke might be on our team now, but so is Anya; we're here to save _both_ of your people from Mount Weather, and that means we aren't going to take sides in this mess when there's a bigger conflict."

"I thought the Avengers were heroes," Raven said, coldly glaring at us. "And you're going to just sit back and let Finn die when you could _save_ him-!"

"We're here to save you all from the threats no conventional force could stand up to," Finnick said, abandoning his usual flippancy as he looked back at Raven. "We get why you're upset, but this is a trial of a convicted criminal by the people who wish to sentence him; it's not our place to get involved in that."

"Nice words," Murphy said, glancing over at Clarke. "Considering that you're with the person who set him off-"

" _Stop_ ," I said, slamming the shield face-down on the table as I stood up, glaring coldly at Murphy. "You do _not_ get to accuse _anyone_ of doing _anything_ but what _they_ are responsible for. Clarke isn't to blame for anyone's actions but her own; even if Finn thinks that he can justify what happened because he was looking for her, he did because he chose to do it."

"Even when he felt he had to?" Bellamy asked.

"Mockingjay and I had an entire nation waiting for one of us to kill the other and we chose to defy their orders," Peeta put in firmly. "We made our choice then, despite the risk; Finn chose to kill those people because it was easier to channel his own frustration against others rather than accept it and wait."

It wasn't how I would have chosen to discuss our past with these people, but looking around the table, I appreciated the new edge of respect in Abby and Kane's eyes as they looked in my direction. Jaha still seemed sceptical, but I was grateful to see that at least two of the people I was trying to talk with appreciated that I knew what I was talking about.

"Believe me, I get why you're upset," Steve said, looking around the room at the three adults. "You thought that you could come down here and repopulate Earth, and instead you're having to integrate into a larger community than you ever believed. All we can do is offer you every apology that we didn't know you were there earlier, and assure you that we're going to do what we can to save your people… but in the end, you need to recognise that you can't just ask for Finn to be spared because you don't like the local customs."

"And would you be saying that if it was one of _you_ down there?" Raven asked.

Whatever response we might have made to that was cut short when the door opened and a guard came in, looking anxiously around the room before his gaze settled on Abby

"He's gone out!"

" _Out_?" Abby repeated, standing up and staring at the guard in shock. "Why-?"

"Hold on a minute…" Finnick said, looking anxiously at his watch. "When we were flying here, we passed over a large group of people; I didn't really clock it at the time as they didn't have anything that could be a threat, but if they kept going at a steady pace…"

"You believe it to be my people?" Anya asked.

"Here and ready for their pound of flesh," Finnick said grimly, before looking back at the guard. "And I take it 'he' is this Finn guy?"

The guard's brief nod was all that was needed for Raven to get to her feet and hobble out of the room as fast as possible, leaving our unofficial guard to hurry after her while the Avengers and I followed at a more gradual pace, Clarke walking between the two groups.

As we emerged from the remnants of the Ark, I was surprised at how dark it had become so quickly; I'd known that we were some distance from any of the Districts, and it had been getting on a bit, but even in the Games or when I was out hunting I'd never been somewhere so devoid of natural light. The Ark was still working on exterior lighting, but the sight outside the gates was easily visible, as various Coalition warriors stood outside, torches in their hands, a young man I recognised as Finn tied to a stake in front of the gate.

"Death by a thousand cuts," Steve said grimly, from his position behind us. "Never struck me as the best way to go."

"What can we do?" Peeta asked, reaching up as though ready to snap his face-plate back into position. "I get that this has to work, but there must be _something_ -"

"Let me try," Clarke said, looking around the group before she focused on Anya and me. "I know what he did, but… he's still one of my people."

Anya stared at Clarke in silence for a moment before she nodded, leaving me to give her a similar nod of confirmation. With that, Clarke turned around and activated her thrusters, flying into the air before coming down on the other side of the wall without even activating her wings. For a moment I worried about what was going to happen, but quickly reminded myself that I had to trust Clarke if our new team was ever going to work; after all the time we'd spent talking about this alliance, she wouldn't try and take Finn away…

As she spoke with a form I thought might be Lexa, I couldn't be sure what she'd said.

As she walked up to the pole where Finn had been tied up, I didn't know what she was going to do.

When she stepped away from the pole with a knife sticking out of Finn's chest, I knew what she'd just done.

I just hoped that enough people in the Coalition would understand it as well…


	17. Forging Alliances

Walking away from Finn's now-still body, Clarke tried not to think too much about what she'd just done. She'd taken the only action she could find that would spare a friend from suffering further pain because of something he would never have done under normal circumstances, and she had to focus on that, not the fact that Finn was… Finn was…

As she walked through the gates, she didn't even notice who came up to her before she found herself wrapped in comforting arms, Clarke returning the embrace as she sobbed into the figure's shoulder.

"I killed him," she croaked out, voice already hoarse from the scale of the sobs that now wracked her body.

"You set him free," the figure replied, the voice revealing that it was Anya even as Clarke looked up at her, revealing a compassion in the older Avenger's eyes that Clarke had never expected to see in the Grounder leader. "My people will be satisfied."

"They… they will?" Clarke asked, suddenly needing to know that she hadn't just created a new problem.

"Blood has had blood, and I will speak out against any who suggest otherwise," Anya said, her eyes flashing green for a moment before she turned to lead Clarke back into the Ark.

Clarke would analyse later why she felt so comfortable being held by a woman who could literally squeeze her flat with her bare hands; all that mattered now was that Anya was there to keep her safe until she could find somewhere private to cry…

* * *

As the two newest Avengers headed into the main part of the Ark, Raven moved to follow them with enraged tears on her face, but a bow that snapped to full length in front of her cut that plan off before it could start.  
  
"Go near her right now and someone's going to get hurt," Katniss said, looking Raven over with a brief but grim assessment; as much as she sympathised with the mechanic's feelings right now, her team would always come first. "And no offence, but even in her current state, Falcon could easily take you if she was pushed to it."  
  
"Her 'state'?" Raven repeated scathingly. "She _chose_ to kill him-!"  
  
"And what was the alternative?" Finnick asked, stepping in to address the mechanic, as always an intimidating figure despite his slight build and costume. "Kill the Commander and let this pointless scuffle continue in the face of the real enemy? Kill everyone out there who wanted Finn dead and be left with nothing to take on Mount Weather but a few exhausted survivors? I'm sorry, but it was kill Finn now, let him get horribly tortured and _then_ killed, or kill a whole bunch of people and probably have him end up dead anyway; I get wanting another way, but I think it's clear there wasn't one."  
  
"Mariner's right," Katniss said solemnly; in a situation like this, it somehow felt more appropriate to use code names than 'birth' names. "Falcon saved lives because she made an impossible choice; that's what it is to be an Avenger."  
  
"Killing the people who trust you?"  
  
"Saving people where and how we can, even if it's not always pleasant," Katniss countered; she hadn't been forced to face that kind of decision yet, but Steve's stories of some of the old team had focused on the idea that she might face such a decision some day. "Trust me, I wish there had been another way, but there wasn't."  
  
"You don't know-"  
  
"We did," Peeta said, looking firmly at Raven. "You think we just received that ultimatum from the Commander and then came straight here to give you the news? Trust me, we spent some time going over everything Anya had to tell us about her peoples' culture to work out some way around this, and the only alternatives involved killing _more_ people or putting your entire station at risk just to save him. It was let one person get punished by the local legal system, or risk an open war when you've got enough problems in this part of the country already; don't ever think that we liked it, but it was the only thing we could do."  
  
Raven continued to glare at Peeta, but the slumping of her shoulders made it clear that she was resigned to his argument, even if she didn't like to admit it.  
  
"OK," Bellamy put in, stepping forward to look uncertainly at the armoured Avenger. "We've got a truce with the Grounders; now what?"  
  
"We work on a battle plan tomorrow," Johanna put in, indicating the area where Anya had taken Clarke. "Right now, the Falcon needs a few hours to grieve-"  
  
" _Grieve_?" Raven virtually spat. "For someone _she_ killed-"  
  
She was cut short when Johanna drew one of her smaller axes and brandished it under the mechanic's throat, taking a moment to be sure that the other girl registered what was at her neck before she continued.  
  
"If you haven't been in a position where someone you know and like is facing probably certain death, _don't_ go there," the District Seven Victor said firmly. "I've been stuck in two different competitions where it was expected that I'd work with some people and end up killing them at the end if I wanted to get out of there alive, and that was just if I was lucky enough to survive the opening bloodbath; when you're in a position where it's kill one person or risk a lot more dying, you have to make the call."  
  
"Point made, Bloodaxe," Katniss said, shooting a firm stare at the one-armed Avenger as Anya came out of the Ark, an oddly thoughtful expression on her face.  
  
"How is she?" Peeta asked, stepping over to look curiously at She-Hulk.  
  
"Resting," Anya replied. "She is currently with her mother."  
  
"That's good," Katniss said, nodding at Anya before she indicated the gate. "So, now that the issue of Finn's out the way… maybe we can talk to the Commander about the next plan?"  
  
"Now he's-?" Raven began, before Finnick reached up and squeezed an area by Raven's neck, catching her as she slumped to the ground.  
  
"Little martial arts trick I picked up at the Academy," he explained, as the rest of the Avengers looked at him in surprise. "It's not flashy enough for the Games, so it isn't used often, but the instructors recognised that sometimes you need something that does a quiet job rather than a cool one."  
  
"Games?" Bellamy repeated.  
  
"Believe me, you _don't_ want to know right now," Peeta said, before looking back at Katniss. "You and She-Hulk see what the commander thinks about this; the rest of us will… keep things calm here."  
  
Nodding in acknowledgement at Peeta, Katniss glanced over at Anya before heading out of the Ark camp, the newest Avenger close behind her; if she was going to continue negotiations, Anya would be the best candidate to make sure she didn't say the wrong thing.  
  
The She-Hulk might be the newest Avenger, but she and Clarke were fitting into the role so comfortably it sometimes amazed Katniss that they hadn't even known these women existed last week.  
  
As they walked through the crowd, Anya noted the stares the two of them were receiving from the rest of the _skaikru_ , but chose to ignore it; with her new abilities, getting angry would accomplish nothing but cause greater fear, and if these people could help hers end the threat of the _maunon_ , she would not be the one to jeopardise that chance.  
  
Looking at the young woman walking beside her, Anya wondered once again what it was about Mockingjay and Clarke that inspired respect so easily. Lexa had already had a great deal of presence even before she was chosen by the Spirit of the Commander, but somehow these two women, each younger than Lexa, nevertheless commanded a presence that caught the attention and respect of others in vastly different ways. While the woman she was coming to think of as the Falcon captured Anya's interest in her genuine desire to avoid death and find peace- even when Anya had been deliberately provoking her, she could see that Clarke genuinely didn't want to have to kill anyone- Mockingjay, for all her youth, had a strength of will about her that made it almost impossible not to admire her even if it was hard to define why or how she did it.  
  
If she truly commanded the respect of a being that could be a god, Anya could understand what that god might have seen in the Mockingjay that was worth following; she commanded attention simply by acting on the spot…

* * *

As they finally approached Lexa's tent, Anya brought her thoughts to focus on the present; she and Lexa might enjoy a closer relationship than other tribal leaders, given Lexa's former role as her Second, but that didn't mean that she could afford to be too casual when faced with a meeting like this. Once the two Avengers- a term that Anya was becoming more appreciative of every time she thought about it- were shown into the tent, Lexa dismissed her guards with a wave of her hand, looking contemplatively between the two women standing in front of her before she spoke.  
  
"Did you instruct her to do that?"  
  
"The Falcon made her choice," Katniss said firmly.  
  
"You present yourself as their leader-"  
  
"But I'm _not_ their dictator," Katniss countered. "I expect my team to follow my orders, but I don't expect to have to order them to think; they can all make their own decisions, so long as they don't do anything I wouldn't fundamentally approve of."  
  
"Which includes?"  
  
"Attacking each other, using their abilities against the innocent, or aiding anyone who would treat innocent lives as things," Katniss said firmly. "We're here to ensure that the human race can rise up and lead itself without someone else trying to enforce their view; we're not here to dictate terms or take control. All we want to do is face the threats that nobody else could handle; after the threat of Mount Weather is over, you never have to see us again if you don't want to."  
  
"And what of you, Anya?" Lexa asked, turning to look at her former mentor. "You serve this woman of your own will?"  
  
" _Sha, Heda_ ," Anya nodded. "I have already felt the power that is now part of me when I changed for the first time, and I am satisfied that I can best use this power working with these… Avengers… rather than as part of the Coalition."  
  
"Even if I ordered you to return to us as leader of your tribe?"  
  
"My tribe has been decimated by our battle with the Skaikru," Anya admitted grimly; there was no shame in admitting that they had fallen to superior tactics and weapons in what had been a more balanced fight, as opposed to the mountain simply taking their people with no explanation. "No matter what we attempt, there will be too few of my people left to make it worth our while re-establishing my camp; I will remain with the Avengers, if you wish?"  
  
Lexa studied the two women for a moment, until she nodded in acceptance.  
  
"Very well," she said, looking at Anya with a slight smile. "If you feel that you can find a clan with these… Avengers… I see no reason to deprive you of the opportunity."  
  
" _Sha, Heda_ ," Anya nodded.  
  
"OK," Katniss said, after waiting a moment to confirm that nobody else had something to say, "with that sorted, I think it's only fair we let you know what we're bringing to this campaign."  
  
"Aside from the power that Anya now possesses and the man in armour I witnessed earlier?"  
  
"Exactly," Katniss said, reaching behind her back to present her shield to Lexa. "For example, I'm regarded as the best archer of my generation, but I've also been trusted with this shield, which is able to absorb any force thrown against it no matter how strong it is."  
  
"There are two others you have not met yet," Anya said, as Lexa took the shield from Katniss to examine it thoughtfully. "A man they call the Mariner, who possesses a powerful trident that can act as a long-range weapon as well as a tool for hand-to-hand combat, and a woman known as Bloodaxe, who wields a powerful axe that I am told can pierce anything but this shield, and also has a metal arm."  
  
"A metal arm?"  
  
"Her original arm was crushed by our first adversary, so we… made her a new one," Katniss explained, hoping that Lexa wouldn't ask for too many details; she was aware of the key points of how Johanna's arm worked, but would the Coalition have enough background knowledge to understand anything she could tell them?  
  
"And these are all your forces?" Lexa asked.  
  
"The Avengers are primarily intended as an emergency strike force rather than a sustained army; we hit hard and fast using exceptional force and skill against equally exceptional opponents," Katniss explained. "Actually, we do have another member, but he's… well, he has other responsibilities, so he isn't always available to help us unless it's a serious emergency."  
  
"Is that likely?" Lexa asked.  
  
"And when will I meet him?" Anya put in.  
  
"When he's needed," Katniss said, before she sighed. "Which… might actually be sooner than we'd like."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Our… healer… discovered something about the Reapers when we were treating Lincoln," Katniss explained. "When we were examining him, we learned that the transformation into Reapers is aided by blood samples taken from an individual we call 'the Abomination'."  
  
"The Abomination?" Lexa asked.  
  
"Basically, he's the product of the same kind of experiments that gave Anya's ancestor his own abilities," Katniss explained. "Two hundred years ago, a soldier exposed himself to blood taken from the man we know as the Hulk with the goal of acquiring his power, only to be transformed into an exceptionally powerful being with a passion for destruction and the power to match it."  
  
"Two centuries?" Lexa repeated, looking sceptically at the Avengers' leader. "No being could live so long-"  
  
"They speak the truth," Anya put in. "I was shown moving images of what this 'Abomination' was capable of when he was first created, and they have shared… many details about what this transformation has done to him. I do not know for certain if they tell the truth about his continued existence, but if this being they call the Abomination still exists and possesses the power that he did then, we shall require the Avengers to defeat him."  
  
"You speak the truth?" Lexa asked, looking curiously at Katniss.  
  
"No offence, but if we were lying, wouldn't we come up with something slightly less outrageous than this?" Katniss pointed out. "We'll do what we can, but the mountain is going to be a problem for my team even without the Abomination as part of the equation; we're going to need every asset you can spare, and we need a few days to work out our next move."  
  
"You have not defined your plan yet?"  
  
"We've been a bit busy making sure we're clear on the stakes of the situation we're in at the moment; we can't afford to just dive in and start swinging or shooting," Katniss explained. "We can cure the Reapers, and that's a start at weakening what they have to throw at us, but that still leaves us with the issue of getting into the Mountain and past their defences."  
  
"If you are as powerful as you say-"  
  
"I will _not_ countenance mass murder until I know there's no other option," Katniss cut in. "What's been done to your people is wrong, but I'm not going to condemn everyone in that mountain until I know for sure they all enjoyed or approved of what they were doing to you. We need your people to work out what we're up against, we all need Clarke's people to use their inside men to work out what we can do once we're in the bunker, and you all need us to actually mount any kind of effective attack against them."  
  
Her 'leader tone' was something Katniss still felt she needed practise with when she was talking to anyone outside those who already knew and respected her as more than just the Mockingjay of the rebellion, but as Lexa looked at her with a slight hint of respect, the archer was surprised to see just how genuine that respect was.  
  
This whole plan was a risk, but as she looked over at Anya, who had started out hostile to her other new teammate and had just shown Clarke a great deal of compassion over what had to be a controversial decision for her people…  
  
Katniss was starting to hope that they might just be able to pull this off.


	18. When Thunder Rolls

Looking around the ever-expanding army in our new training field, I had to admit that I was impressed at how far we'd come.

A sneak attack spearheaded by the Avengers was still our best chance of victory, but if Mount Weather had the kind of resources we believed they did, we had to give them more to 'worry' about if we were going to get inside undetected until we were ready to strike. While Lexa still appeared slightly displeased that we weren't committing more resources to this fight ourselves, she seemed to have accepted our reasoning that we had too much going on in our territory to risk provoking Mount Weather into escalating what they were willing to use against us.

Fortunately, with Anya's support and Lexa's own agreement with our plan of attack, getting the Coalition to work with us as we trained was actually fairly simple. They were still uncomfortable at the thought of using some of the Ark's weapons, most likely due to the similarities between those and what the 'Mountain Men' had been using against them for so many years, but they seemed to be willing to accept the Arkers fighting alongside them.

The only real challenge was working out how best to use the team in the final confrontation. Finnick had quickly proven his worth against the Grounders in a practise fight- considering that he was the 'weakest' of the team by their standards, it made sense for him to prove our mettle to any doubters- but that still left me to work out how best to divide up our resources when the time came to mount our assault. We needed to get someone inside Mount Weather to shut down some of its defences without endangering any innocent people in there who didn't approve of what their government was doing, and I knew that I was only willing to trust the Avengers with that kind of responsibility, but the challenge lay in working out who would be the best choice.

Obviously Peeta and Johanna were out, as Peeta still wasn't that capable in a fight without his armour and Johanna's arm would raise too many questions if we 'faked' being captured (and it would take too long to try and take the arm off just to let her sneak in), but after that it was hard to be sure who I could send. Clarke and Anya were obviously my top choices, since they would know their way around the mountain already, but I wasn't comfortable ordering them to do something like that unless I was sure it was the best option, considering what they'd been through last time they were in there. On an emotional level, I wanted to go in myself rather than put any of the team at risk, but on a practical level I wished we had some plans of the system so that I could find out if it might be possible to sneak Prim into the mountain, given her greater skills at stealth. As much as I wanted to protect Prim, I had to acknowledge that she was determined to help out as an Avenger, and I couldn't exactly help her grow by stopping her doing anything she really wanted to do…

In the end, the best thing I could do was wait and see how the training unfolded before I came to a definite decision. We'd had a couple of crash-test sessions with Clarke and Anya, but this was still basically our first time working with our new members in a prolonged session, so this was helping the Avengers develop our own working dynamic as well as working with the Ark residents and the Coalition.

The only complication to the plan so far had been the former Ark Chancellor's decision to leave the Ark with a small group as part of his own quest, but I wasn't particularly concerned about him. Our numbers might be small, but we weren't so limited that the loss of the few people who'd gone with ex-Chancellor Jaha would have that much impact on our plans, and his own dismissive attitude towards the 'Grounders' had done little to endear the man to me, so it was probably for the best that he'd taken himself and his issues out of the picture to follow his own quest. Once we'd dealt with the main problem, I might send Peeta after them to see if they were all right and to investigate the rumours of the 'City of Light' that had captured Jaha's interest, but right now we had more immediate concerns.

Looking at our small training field, I was actually impressed at how quickly we'd come together. After relocating our hovercraft to an area a short distance from the crashed Ark so that we wouldn't have to worry about collateral damage while training, Steve had settled in to act as a coordinator for our primary training efforts, leaving me to directly supervise the current training session while he went over everything Clarke had been able to give him about the internal structure of Mount Weather; whether we got someone inside or not, it couldn't hurt to cover all the angles.

We'd already had a few lessons with the Coalition, but I'd soon concluded that it would be a good idea for the team to get some practise with each other as well, especially when Clarke and Anya were still new to the team dynamic. Clarke was currently engaging in hand-to-hand combat practise with Johanna and Finnick at the same time, getting used to her harness and its weapons while also improving her skills at more conventional combat from her current level of 'talented amateur', while Peeta was fighting with Anya as the only available Avenger who could even hope to match her in a fight. As with most of his group training sessions, Peeta was under orders not to use his repulsors and just engage Anya in hand-to-hand combat, but I had also instructed Anya to try and watch her strength and try something more sophisticated; power might be useful, but there were times when we wouldn't want to just hit everything really hard.

Privately, I just hoped that we weren't putting too much on Anya too fast; she might have accepted our offer of membership because we had offered to help her use her new power, but she was starting to experience the isolation of that role in a manner that I wasn't sure she or the Coalition would like that much…

" _Hey_!" Peeta said, his voice drawing me back to the present as I looked over at where he was sparring with the transformed Anya, his face-place raised as he indicated his dented left gauntlet while glaring at the green-skinned ex-thief. "We agreed that you'd watch your strength, remember?"

"I cannot hurt you-"

"That doesn't mean this is _easy_ to fix, you know!" Peeta countered. "I get that you don't understand the technical details, but it takes a lot of effort to keep this thing going-"

"Are you implying-?" Anya began in a threatening tone.

" _Enough_!" I yelled, charging over to the two before it could go any further, my shield held out in front of Anya before she could do anything. "Look, I get that we're all working on this, but we need to have _patience_ here; turning on each other because we're annoyed isn't going to stop the bigger problem!"

"But-!"

"Peeta, you need to recognise that Anya's still adjusting, and Anya, you need to take more care," I said firmly. "I get that Peeta's armour isn't the best match-up for you, but we don't have anything better right now-"

The sound of lightning striking on the outskirts of the field prompted all of us to look sharply in that direction, but the three ex-Victors and I relaxed as we registered the sight of a familiar fair-haired figure in silver armour and a red cloak, looking at us with a slight smile.

"Who the… is that _Thor_?" Clarke asked, grinning at the sight of the last active original Avenger.

"That's Thor," I confirmed, looking at her with a smile. "Didn't quite believe it, huh?"

"I… well, I didn't doubt you, but…"

"It's OK, I get it; there's still a few people back home who doubt that he's real even after seeing him in action," I said reassuringly before I led the group over to Thor as he walked out of the Bifrost circle, smiling as the King of Asgard clasped my arm in the now-familiar 'warrior's grip' of Asgard. "Good to see you, Thor."

"As it is to see you, Mockingjay," Thor replied, looking over the rest of the team with a smile before his gaze settled on the two unfamiliar faces. "And these are?"

"This is Clarke Griffin and Anya; they're… well, they're on the team."

"I see," Thor said, briefly assessing Clarke's harness and costume before his gaze fixed on Anya, her skin still green as she looked at him with a certain tension in her stance. "And how did this happen?"

"Steve thinks that Anya's a distant descendant of Doctor Banner's cousin, which means that she inherited… whatever let him turn into the Hulk after she received a blood transfusion from Steve after a lifetime of being exposed to some of the energy that changed Doctor Banner…" I explained, shrugging at Thor's quizzical expression. "Hey, you know I'm not that hot on the science stuff; that's what we have the team for!"

"Indeed," Thor smiled at me in understanding before turning to Clarke. "It is a pleasure to meet those who have been judged worthy of Avengers membership; which District are you from?"

"Oh, we're not from Panem," Clarke replied, looking at Thor with a slight smile. "We came from a space station-"

"The _Ark_?" Thor interjected sharply.

"You knew about that?" Peeta looked at Thor in surprise.

"I… heard rumours, but I paid little attention to them before I left Earth; I believe Stark considered it as a… worst-case scenario…" Thor said, his manner calming down even as his expression appeared strangely tense. I wondered at the shift in his mood for a moment, but svoon decided that it wasn't my concern. Once he'd returned to the fold on a regular basis, Thor was always so awkward and ashamed about the fact that he'd abandoned Earth after being defeated by the Maestro in their first clash that I never felt comfortable pushing him on certain topics if he was clearly uncomfortable discussing them, and even Johanna had come to recognise that pushing him on that issue wouldn't get anyone anywhere.

"OK, that's not important," I said, waving a hand to encourage the other Avengers not to ask Thor for anything else right now; Thor might have left Earth because he genuinely felt as though we didn't deserve saving, but unlike some of the Capitol citizens who'd neglected us because they didn't care, he'd stepped in to help when he was really needed, so there was no point blaming him for the past. "The important thing is that you're here now; I can fill you in while we head down to the Ark."

"The Ark is here?"

"It… crash-landed," Clarke shrugged awkwardly, indicating the shattered former satellite. "The life-support systems were running down and all the Exodus ships had been lost in an earlier accident; the only way to get anyone down was to send all the Ark's components heading to the ground and hope enough of them came down fairly intact."

"I see," Thor said, his manner solemn as he took in the sight ahead of us, before he placed Mjolnir on his side and began to walk down towards the camp.

Shrugging at this turn of events, I walked off after him, the others falling in step behind me. I thought for a moment about letting Steve know we were leaving, but decided it wasn't worth worrying about; he had to focus on going over our possible battle plans right now, and the hovercraft's cameras should let him know where we had gone if he hadn't seen it already. I noticed Clarke looking curiously at Thor as we walked down the hill, but she apparently decided that silence would be better for the moment; knowing Clarke, she was probably going to try and talk to Thor once the immediate introductions at the Ark had been dealt with.

Walking into the camp, I was grateful to see that things seemed to be relatively calm between the Coalition and the Ark. There were some areas where both groups were clearly making a deliberate effort to ignore each other, but there were more where small groups were trying to train together. Even if the Coalition were clearly the superior fighters when it came to hand-to-hand combat, it looked like the Ark had managed to preserve some of the more sophisticated martial arts after they were permanently 'exiled' to space, even if a few of the guards used less force than I might have expected.

"Impressive," Thor said, a guarded tone to his voice that I tried not to think about too much; whatever the reason for his discomfort, it couldn't affect his performance as an Avenger…

"Who the hell is this?"

"Octavia," I sighed, as I turned to look at the woman who was apparently the only sibling born on the Ark for decades, "this is Thor, the last member of our team; he's here to help-"

"Oh, so he's _another_ one of your 'heroes' who's happy to sit around and play while our people are dying-"

"Hey, if you think it's _easy_ to control this thing, be my guest," Clarke cut in, stepping forward to glare at Octavia. "I get that you're worried, but diving into the mountain without a plan will just get everyone killed faster; we're doing the best we can-"

"And our people are _dying_ -!"

"You can't solve every problem by just charging in and hitting it, O," Johanna put in, indicating her arm. "The last time we fought a powerhouse without a real plan, I had this arm shattered and we only got out alive by a total fluke; when it's your people at stake I'd think you'd appreciate that we're being careful."

"I spent my entire life having to be _careful_ ; when do I get to _live_ it?" Octavia spat, storming off to another part of the camp. As she brushed past Thor, I thought I saw a blue spark of something leave Mjolnir, but I quickly dismissed that as a trick of the light; maybe something Octavia was wearing had scraped against the hammer somehow.

"She's… had a rough life," Clarke shrugged awkwardly at us.

"We've all been there," Finnick shrugged. "OK, probably not the same way she has, but believe me, we all get that life can suck sometimes."

"Not much we can do for her now but deal with this mess and hope she feels better once it's over," Johanna shrugged, indicating the main 'building' of the Ark. "Let's go."

Acknowledging Johanna's point, I led the team into the main body of the Ark, smiling politely as I walked into the council chamber with Abby and Kane sitting around it, looking up as though they'd been caught in the middle of a conversation.

"Ah, Chancellor Griffin," I smiled at Clarke's mother as she and Kane stood up to stare curiously at us. "Sorry to barge in, but I thought you'd appreciate an introduction to our other surviving original Avenger, King Thor of Asgard."

"Chancellor," Thor nodded at the doctor.

"…Thor?" Abby said, looking at him incredulously.

"As in the Norse God?" Kane added, matching Abby's incredulity. "You mean… you weren't just some guy in a suit?"

"I was," Thor looked at Kane in surprise. "I wore Asgardian armour and wielded Mjolnir for my power, although Stark possessed an advanced suit of technological armour-"

"Let's… not get into that right now," I cut in before the conversation could become more difficult; I could clarify that Thor's powers weren't just technological once Mount Weather wasn't a problem. "The point is that we're all working together right now, so I thought it would be a good idea to let you know that we had another Avenger available to help us…"

My voice trailed off as a thought occurred to me, and I couldn't believe I hadn't realised this earlier.

"Thor," I said, looking anxiously at the original Avenger, "I know you need to wield Mjolnir to tap into your _full_ power… but you're still fairly strong without it, right?"

"Indeed," Thor nodded at me. "Why do you ask?"

"Well-" I began, before a loud yell from outside cut me off; the Ark might have survived for years in space, but after the damage it had sustained while landing certain parts of the hull were fragile enough to let in any particularly loud sounds. With no idea what had caused that call but also certain that it couldn't be good, I turned around and ran back through the Ark's corridors for the entrance, the rest of the team just behind. As I emerged from the Ark, I heard another yell, but it didn't take long to trace the source, as I realised that everyone around the crashed station was watching as a woman I recognised as Indra from Anya's description of other Coalition generals flew through the air, forced upwards by…

"Huh?" I said, lost for a better reaction as I realised that Octavia Blake was standing where Indra had apparently started, her hand outstretched in a manner that made it clear she'd just thrown a punch.

In other words, Octavia Blake, a woman that I had barely spoken to and who was only remarkable for being part of the only siblings on the Ark, had somehow acquired superhuman strength.

"Was that… _Octavia_?" Clarke asked, looking between her friend and the thrown Indra in shock.

"OK, I know we're getting to know you people, but that isn't something you already knew she could do, right?" Finnick asked.

"No!" Clarke protested, as Octavia knelt on the ground, staring at her hands in shock. "I just… she's coped well with life down here, but I didn't know she could do anything like _that_!"

"Impossible…"

"What?" I looked curiously over at Thor, who was looking at Octavia as though she was something he'd never seen before. "Thor, is something-?"

"NO!" Thor yelled, storming past us to place a hand on Octavia's shoulder before raising his hammer to the sky. " _Heimdell_!"

"Hey, wait a minute-!" Johanna began, charging forward to grab Thor's arm just as the brilliant light of the Bifrost struck Mjolnir before spreading out over the ground around the Asgardian king, the light vanishing to leave only the strange runic circular pattern on the ground where Thor, Octavia and Johanna had been moments ago.

"OK," Clarke said, turning to look at me in confusion, "what the _Hell_ just happened?"

"Thor… just took Octavia and Johanna to Asgard," I said, lost for anything better to say as I tried to process what had just happened.

Thor might be King of Asgard, but after all the times he'd made it clear that he would defer to my authority when dealing with any issues on Earth, I had to believe that he wouldn't have grabbed Octavia like that unless he had a very good reason… the only question was what that reason actually _was_.

Of course, considering that she was armed with what was possibly the only weapon my team had that would be able to hurt an Asgardian, I also had to hope that Johanna's temper wouldn't prompt her to do anything stupid…


	19. Avengers on Asgard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Parts of this chapter were written with the assistance of David Knight, who inspired a key plot twist that will be revealed in this chapter; hope you like it

Johanna had heard a few stories from Thor and Steve about what it was like to travel through the Bifrost, but the actual experience was still the most incredible thing she'd ever seen. As she literally flew upwards, her artificial hand's tight grip on Jarnbjorn the only thing that kept her where she was, she watched the rainbow-patterned lights flashing around her, accompanied by brief glimpses of various landscapes ranging from some kind of ice field to a more conventional farm, before the lights vanished and she found herself staggering forwards in a large round room, a tall dark-skinned man in gold armour looking probingly at them.

"Heimdell-" Thor began, before he turned around and registered the presence of his fellow Avengers. "Lady Johanna? What are-?"

"Hey, you abduct a friend of one of our new members and think nobody's going to worry about her?" Johanna countered, adjusting her grip on Jarnbjorn as she stared the Asgardian king down. "I get that you've got your reasons, but I've got a big axe and I don't like it when the big guy thinks they can do whatever they want; you got a problem with that?"

"I would not recommend arguing with this woman, my king," the man who was apparently said, looking thoughtfully at Johanna. "She has endured great hardship at the hands of those who considered themselves her superiors even before she suffered her most obvious loss…"

"OK, can you people _please_ stop talking about me as though I'm not here and tell me _what the hell is going on_?" Octavia yelled, looking indignantly at the two strangers before her gaze settled on the only Avenger here she knew. "What… what just happened to me?"

"Long story short?" Johanna shrugged. "Congrats, Miss Blake; you've made it to the place where gods hang out."

She wasn't surprised when Octavia merely blinked at that statement.

"Excuse me?" she said.

"You are in Asgard, Octavia Blake," Thor put in. "The jewel of the Nine Realms, guardian of all the others, and my own kingdom; I have brought you here because… to be blunt, I have questions that must be answered."

"Questions about what?"

"We knew that, we wouldn't need to be here," Johanna pointed out, before she smiled and nudged Octavia's side with her real arm as she indicated the view outside the room. "But hey, long as we're here, I say enjoy the view and roll with it while they're running a few tests."

Under normal circumstances, Johanna felt that Octavia would have had a few questions about what kind of tests Johanna was talking about, but when the girl saw the sight of Asgard spread out before them, it was easy to see that she had other things to think about. Johanna might have become fairly jaded about beautiful things since she'd first seen the Capitol and realised that everyone in it was waiting for her to kill or die, but with the knowledge that she knew the guy who ran this place, it was easier to appreciate the wonder and scale of Asgard as Thor led them along the gleaming bridge to the main palace.

* * *

Speechless.  
  
That's how Octavia felt the moment she walked out of that chamber and started walking rainbow colored bridge of glass, seeing a vast star filled space to either side. Yet forward was a vast, majestic city off to the horizon.  
  
An actual city; not the ruins of one that she saw on Earth but a city with golden towers taller than she could imagine stretching into the sky. It was all so majestic it felt like a dream. The closest thing she had to compare how she felt now was when she stepped out of the drop ship and became the first person from the Ark to touch the earth.  
  
"Care to fill me in on why you dragged our little witch all the way up here?" Octavia's musings were interrupted by Bloodaxe's voice.  
  
"I have a theory that must be confirmed."  
  
"A 'theory'," Johanna repeated, looking pointedly at the Asgardian king, Octavia only able to watch in silent uncertainty as the two Avengers discussed her. "And you could only check this 'theory' by taking some girl all the way to your world which is somewhere else in some weird way I can't even really think about without getting a headache?"  
  
"You will understand if I am right."  
  
"Take your word for it," Johanna shrugged out of a lack of anything else to do.  
  
"I don't," Octavia spoke up, looking at Thor when she said that. "Can't imagine how people are going to react to what you just pulled, but I sure as hell know my brother is going react."  
  
"You have a brother?" Thor asked, sounding curious. "I thought no one on the Ark had siblings."  
  
Octavia let out a mirthless chuckle. "No. Bell and I are the only ones and we aren't even full siblings. We both had different fathers, same mother. Our last name Blake, we get that from her."  
  
"Ah."  
  
For a moment, Octavia thought that Johanna was going to say something, but the chance was lost when the three of them were suddenly surrounded by a group of men and women wearing either robes or some kind of medieval-looking armour.  
  
"My lord?" one of the men in robes said, looking curiously at the two humans. "What is-?"  
  
"I have questions about Octavia Blake that must be answered," Thor said, indicating the woman in question. "Johanna Mason is here as her friend and guardian; I shall attend to immediate matters of state and will join you momentarily."  
  
"You what-?" Octavia began.  
  
"Word of advice; don't yell at the king," Johanna said, grabbing Octavia's arm with her metal one to reinforce the point before she smiled politely at the robed man. "Lead on."  
  
"He can't just drag me up here and then-"  
  
"Did you miss the 'king' part of what we just talked about?" Johanna asked, as the two Earth women began to follow the gathering of Asgardians while Thor twirled his hammer and flew upwards. "Besides, we can't exactly follow him when he's doing _that_."  
  
"Yeah, that's you all over, isn't it?" Octavia shot a frustrated glare at the other woman. "Get us all worked up, and leave other people to do your work…"  
  
"OK, seriously, what's with the attitude; I thought you liked us?"  
  
"I liked the _original_ Avengers because they got things done," Octavia countered. "What have you actually done since you met us, apart from giving Clarke a fancy jetpack and everyone else a lot of fancy promises?"  
  
"Hey, toppling a bunch of paranoids with a massive ego in one of the most secure facilities on the planet isn't something you can just _do_ , you know!" Johanna countered. "Believe me, I'd love it if everything came down to a swing of my axe and the bad guy's dead, but we've got a bunch of people in that mountain whose only crime could be that their leaders are a bunch of dicks who didn't give them an option; we just want to find some way to stop the Mountain that _doesn't_ get those people killed at the same time!"  
  
"Yeah, keep making excuses for holding back; it's not like you've ever lost your family-"  
  
Octavia's opinion of her reflexes was swiftly readjusted when she found herself lying on the rainbow bridge with the large axe practically collaring her neck, the other woman glaring at her with such intense hatred that Octavia suddenly understood how she'd earned the name 'Bloodaxe'.  
  
"I not only lost my family four years ago, but I spent those years forced to live with the knowledge that they died because I told the ruler of my country where he could stick his plans to make me a goddamn _prostitute_ after I had to kill kids my age just to come home," the Avenger said, the axe pressing down so hard that Octavia almost thought she heard something crack to her side. "The next time you _dare_ to say I don't understand what it's like to lose family, I'll make sure you lose something important when I bring this axe down."  
  
There was nothing that Octavia could say to that statement that wouldn't sound weak to her ears, so she simply nodded awkwardly at the other woman.  
  
"Good," Johanna said, removing the axe from her neck and helping Octavia back to her feet, wincing slightly as she released her grip on the other girl. "Is that bridge cold?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Your hand just felt a bit chilly…" Johanna began, before she shrugged dismissively and turned to the other Asgardians, who were looking at the two Earth natives with uncertain stares. "What? We had things to talk about."

* * *

Standing alongside Octavia as she hovered in what Johanna could only think of as a red energy version of that first-prep make-up table from back in the Games, she wondered what exactly Thor was looking for. She appreciated that she wasn't exactly the best Avenger to bring along on a mission where any kind of high science was required, considering that she even relied on other people to do anything with her arm if it so much as twitched in a manner she hadn't asked it to, but she knew enough to gather that this thing was some kind of scanner like that 'MRI' thing Steve had dug up for the Avengers' medical facility back at their compound, and these people were definitely concerned about whatever it was they'd found.  
  
This was one moment when Johanna supposed she should be grateful she'd never been a normal girl; she appreciated new sights, but when she had a mission to focus on, she wasn't going to worry too much about the fact that she'd been cheated of the chance to look around Asgard. She could probably talk Thor into giving the Avengers a proper tour at some later date, but right now, her main concern was that her new charge was all right.  
  
"Problem?" Octavia asked, looking impatiently around at the various Asgardians running their hands over the energy surrounding her.  
  
"Oddity," the woman who seemed to be in charge corrected.  
  
"What kind of 'oddity'?" Johanna asked, not expecting the answer to be something she could understand but feeling obligated to ask anyway.  
  
"Is it what I expected?" a familiar voice cut in.  
  
"You're back already?" Johanna asked, looking at Thor in surprise as he walked into the room. "I thought you said-"  
  
"As king of the greatest of the Nine Realms, I must be prepared to deal with any matters of state that arise when I am available, but I also make sure that my advisors are prepared to deal with most of those when I come to Midgard," Thor clarified, smiling slightly at Johanna before he turned to the woman. "I apologise for the interruption, but I must know; is it what I expected?"  
  
"It is," the woman said, waving her hand to disperse the red energy web that held Octavia in the air, sending her gently back to the ground below her. "What I cannot understand is how this could have happened-"  
  
"How _what_ could have happened?" Octavia asked, swinging her legs over the side of the 'table' as she looked impatiently at Thor. "What's happening to me?"  
  
"That is a complex story, but I believe I know who can provide us with the answers you seek," Thor said, indicating another door in the room. "Come with me, and I shall explain."  
  
Lost for anything better to do, Johanna shrugged and walked off after Thor, Octavia falling into step beside her as they moved further into the palace. Johanna noted three vastly different men- one who looked like an older, grimmer Monty, one with blonde hair and a dashing edge to his manner, and one with a thick beard and a thicker belly- give Thor warm smiles as he walked past them, but otherwise the walk was a simple stroll through the palace.  
  
Under other circumstances, Johanna might have asked who those men were, but it was clear that they had more urgent priorities right now. As they began to walk down the stairs, she started to develop a theory about where they were going, but it wasn't until they walked into a room filled with large white rooms with transparent walls that Johanna's theory was confirmed.  
  
It wasn't the same as what they had back on Earth, but if this wasn't a prison, Johanna would eat her remaining organic arm.  
  
"Wait here," Thor said, holding out a hand to the two women before he walked towards a particular cell.  
  
Looking at the man inside, Johanna noted that, for a prisoner, it looked at least like he was housed humanely, even if the only furniture was a bed, a table with two chairs, and a bookshelf. The prisoner himself was a dark haired man dressed in green clothes, his hair long in a manner that could have been a stylistic choice or simply the lack of a barber, as well as an edge to his eyes that put Johanna in mind of some strange combination of Gloss and one of the morphlings in the Quarter Quell.  
  
"Almost twenty years since we saw each other last," the man said, looking up from his book with a slight smirk as he registered Thor's approach. "You told me it was the last time before you had your guards drag me down to these cells. What has happened that the Almighty King Thor has come down to greet me?"  
  
Johanna had to wonder why they'd come all this way to see someone who was far too smug for a guy who'd been a prisoner for almost twenty years. If he'd been in this cell for as long or longer than Octavia had been alive, what could he possibly know about her situation?  
  
"The Maestro is dead."  
  
The prisoner's smirk dropped for a moment, his eyes widened as he looked at the King closer, nothing the hammer at his side. "You have Mjolnir once more," he said in a more subdued voice. "You would only be able to carry it if you were worthy again." He looked past Thor, seeing the two women behind him. "And you must be, because you have brought humans with you. That's a far cry from the brother I last remember. You could not care less to help them."  
  
Johanna listened to those words, but Octavia's eyes widened as she realised who they were addressing before Johanna could.  
  
"Brother?" she said, looking at Thor in shock. "This is Loki, the guy who led that alien army that tried to conquer Earth?"  
  
"I'm still of the mind it would have been better than the nuclear hell that came later; I wouldn't have scorched the planet," Loki said offhandedly. "So brother, why have you come down here, and with two girls from Earth? Are they your new pets?"  
  
If Thor was angered by his brother's comments he didn't show it. "Johanna is a fellow Avenger and a friend. And my other guest, Octavia Blake isn't from Earth, not originally. She comes from the Ark."  
  
The reference to Johanna as an Avenger had prompted nothing from Loki but a curious raising of his eyebrows, but when Thor mentioned the Ark, Loki's entire body shook, as if having a physical reaction to the name. His posture and stance became unguarded as he looked at Octavia with new eyes. The range of emotions playing on his face were varied but none were of the smugness or arrogance they had seen since they first walked into the prison. "...impossible..."  
  
"What is your problem?" Octavia asked, unable to fathom this sudden turn.  
  
"He sees what I saw in you, that and more," Thor responded, making Octavia hate this cryptic runaround she had been given. He looked to Loki once more. "The tests that we ran on you, it confirmed what I had suspected. You have Frost Giant blood, Jotun blood, running through you along with your human blood."  
  
"Wait a minute, you're saying she's half human?" Johanna asked. "How's that possible? Last I checked, the Ark didn't exactly have any guests up there; how could she be _half_ human on a space station that only had humans on it? "  
  
"Because I was there."  
  
Octavia's head snapped back to the cell, her entire attention now on Loki. "I was there, for three years, in hiding from my brother. I look at you, my child, and I see Aurora looking back at me."  
  
"How..." Octavia breathed, her voice trembling as much as her body felt like shaking. "How do you know my mother? How can you..." The realization started to dawn her and yet she couldn't even voice it. She couldn't believe it to even be possible.  
  
And yet Thor was the one to confirm what she already knew to be true. "Octavia Blake, allow me to properly introduce you to my brother. Loki of Asgard and Jotunheim. Your father."


	20. Adapting Plans

"Right," I said, lost for anything better to say as I looked around at the remaining members of my team, the five of us sitting in a small tent in the camp that was rapidly being established around the Ark. "It's been a few hours now, so we can assume that Thor and Johanna are fairly busy with… whatever they're doing… up in Asgard. Until they get back and we're back to full strength, our first priority has to be making sure that we've got our defences worked out for the base and that Mount Weather doesn't know what we're capable of."

"Defences?" Anya repeated curiously. "We have seen no sign of the Mountain Men since we met you-"

"Which doesn't mean they haven't sent some kind of spy drone we don't know about or aren't planning some kind of attack on us here that they think would work against what they _think_ is here," Peeta noted, glancing over at me as he indicated where his armour was standing in one corner of the tent, the suit sealed and waiting for him to return to it. "I've been working with Beetee on a stealth armour that should let me evade most conventional detection systems to try and get a closer look at the mountain, but its weapons are more limited as we had to dedicate more systems to stealth functions; we haven't been that careful so far, so…"

"We haven't been that careful because they don't know where we are or have any reason to know about _us_ , so we haven't been worrying about anything more than our facility being found by a lucky patrol," I explained my reasoning. "If we're going to prepare for the final attack, we need to be sure that these people can work with us, which means training more closely with the Ark residents and the Coalition instead of just practising amongst ourselves."

"Which leads to you being in a position where you are more likely to be observed by our enemies," Anya finished.

"Precisely," I nodded at her. "Peeta, get Beetee to send you that armour, and then you and Clarke can take up aerial watch-shifts for any sign that Mount Weather's forces are aware of us; if Clarke keeps the jets' power low and tries to glide more, she should be able to avoid detection while still keeping an eye on things, and limited firepower should be enough if you can take them by surprise."

"You think so?"

"Steve told me that the Falcon gear was designed for stealth rescue purposes; it wouldn't be much good at that if it was easy for the enemy to detect when it was being used," I noted. "You've got a good knack for combat and you're still going to be training with us when you're on the ground; we might as well diversify and kill two birds with one stone… no pun intended."

"Right," Finnick smiled at me. "Interesting strategy, Girl on Fire; you're really thinking long-term about our available assets."

"Tactical training from Captain America; it's useful."

"What the _Hell_?" a voice said, prompting a groan from Clarke as she turned to look at a young man in dark clothes, storming into our tent with an outraged glare on his face as he stared around our small group. "Octavia's _gone_?"

"Bellamy," Clarke said, stepping forward before I could say anything myself, "Octavia hasn't _gone_ ; she's been… taken to Asgard for…"

"You don't even know, do you?" Bellamy looked indignantly at the newest Avenger after Clarke failed to finish her sentence. "You've signed on with these people and you don't even know what they're doing to her!"

"Thor wouldn't have taken her to Asgard on a whim," I said, wishing suddenly that I knew how to talk to people in a situation like this; Mockingjay could command anything from the other Avengers to armies to follow her orders, but I'd never been in a position where I had to defend my teammates like this to someone who didn't have some idea of who I was. "I don't know what made Thor do that, but I trust him-"

"To keep _us_ off-guard and useless while you swan in and make us all feel oh-so-grateful to the goddamn Avengers for saving our asses after the last team screwed up!" Bellamy spat at me. "You're just setting yourselves up to take over-!"

" _NO_ ," I countered, my tone so cold that I liked to think I would have made anyone in the old Panem short of Snow stop what they were saying, Bellamy only able to stare at me in stunned silence as I walked up to stand directly in front of him. "We are the Avengers, Bellamy Blake; we are here to protect the world and fight the forces that no single hero could stand against, but we are _not_ here to try and rule the world just because we have the power to do it. This team's sole purpose is to protect the weak from anyone who would try to keep them down just because they can-"

"And you think you can tell a man who thinks he's a _god_ what to do-"

"I think that I can trust the last original Avenger to respect the legacy he's part of and the chosen successor of his original commander," I countered firmly; I might sometimes wonder if Steve had made the right choice when he made me the leader of the Avengers, but I would never stop trying to be worthy of that faith. "Thor never questioned Captain America's orders, and Captain America has made it clear that I have his full trust to lead his team; I appreciate that those names may not mean much to you, but they mean a _hell_ of a lot to me."

"Yeah, you respect the man who _failed_ to save the world-"

"When one of his best friends was driven insane because _certain_ people couldn't accept the difference between what someone _can_ do and what they _will_ do," I countered. "If you think you can handle Mount Weather on your own, fine, but don't blame us when they decide that you're so much trouble it's easier to turn to the _Abomination_ than keep on putting up with everything you have to throw at them-"

"We could have-"

"What?" Clarke asked. "Run off and find somewhere else to make a camp? Mount one last desperate stand against the Grounders to protect what we've got left because we'd rather die trying to say we were right than admit we were wrong? Tried to make peace with people who want our blood and bone marrow to let themselves walk on the surface again and think they're more deserving of life than anyone else here? Bellamy, I appreciate that's how you grew up, but this isn't 'them or us' any more; it's us, the Coalition and the Avengers against Mount Weather, and we should just be grateful that we've got any kind of assets after everything we've been through!"

"Yeah, and you're _so_ grateful for everything they gave _you_ , aren't you?" Bellamy spat.

"Excuse me?" Finnick said, looking at the Blake sibling with a particular edge to his expression. "If you're implying something, say it to our faces."

"Come on, you gave her a position on the team and you think that's all we need to see your point of view?" Bellamy asked, indicating Clarke with a harsh sneer. "Dress her up and parade her around in a fancy suit and we'll suddenly forget-?"

"Clarke did something that nobody has done since Mount Weather started its hunts and actually escaped that place after spending months acting as your leader in a hostile environment she could never have imagined experiencing; believe me, she _earned_ her place on this team," I cut in, looking coldly at Bellamy. "We don't hand out Avengers membership, Mr Blake; Clarke earned her place here with everything she did _before_ we asked her to become the Falcon-!"

"And now she's just-"

"I'm on the team," Clarke said firmly, standing up to look firmly at Bellamy. "I've been consulted on every decision that's been made since I joined these people, Bellamy, and I'm satisfied that they want my input; just because I'm not whining when things don't go the way I'd like them doesn't mean I don't wish things were that simple, but I'm satisfied that I've done the best I can-"

"Hey!" Raven's voice cut in, the mechanic hobbling into the building with a firm glare. "I get that you've got a lot going on right now, but we just got a call I think you need to hear."

"Octavia?" Bellamy asked.

"Monty."

" _Monty_?" Clarke said, looking at Raven in shock.

"Monty?" I repeated uncertainly.

"He's one of the people still stuck in Mount Weather," Clarke explained, moving over to look eagerly at Raven. "Where's the call?"

"I diverted it to what used to be the main control room-"

With those words, Clarke hurried out of our makeshift Ark base, leaving me to lead the rest of the team after her as she headed into the main Ark facility. Even with her head start, her unfamiliarity with her new suit slowed her down just enough to allow the rest of us to catch up as she reached the radio, eagerly grabbing it as an unfamiliar voice was heard at the other end.

" _Monty_!" she said, grinning in relief. "You're OK!"

" _Clarke_?" the man who was apparently Monty said at the other end of the connection. "You're OK?"

"Better than OK," Clarke said, grinning back at me. "We have some _very_ interesting new allies to help us deal with everyone in that mountain."

" _Like who_?"

"Like me," I said, stepping forward to take the radio from my new teammate. "You can all me Mockingjay, Monty; I'm the leader of the Avengers."

"… _the Avengers_?" the boy repeated incredulously. " _As in Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, the Hulk, all that_?"

"Actually, Captain America's retired and it's the She-Hulk rather than the Hulk, but you're basically on the right track with the other two," I corrected with a smile. "Without getting bogged down, let's just say for the moment that the two groups you've encountered so far just reflect a relatively small portion of the surviving human population here on Earth; we had a… political crisis a few months back that prompted my own civilisation to recreate the Avengers to deal with the problem, and we've remained together ever since."

" _Seriously_?" the boy said.

"It's true, Monty," Clarke cut in. "I know that it sounds impossible, but there really is another civilisation down here; they just left the grounders alone because they thought this part of the country had been completely destroyed in the nuclear war. Mockingjay has Captain America's old shield, they've managed to rebuild Iron Man's armour, there's a new Black Widow, new heroes called the Mariner and Bloodaxe, and…"

" _And_?"

"And… they've made Anya and I part of the team."

" _Hold on;_ Anya?" Monty repeated. " _As in the grounder who_ -"

"Mistakes were made," Clarke said firmly. "Anya's on the team now, like me; Mockingjay trusts her, and I trust Mockingjay."

" _But how_ -?"

"We can discuss that when we get you out of there," I cut in, stepping forward to take the radio. "I appreciate that you probably can't do this for long, so I have an urgent matter to discuss; do you or anyone else know about a part of Mount Weather that isn't meant to be accessed by the general staff?"

" _Why_?"

"We… have reason to think that there's something in there that Mount Weather are using to create the Reapers," I said, after exchanging awkward glances with Clarke; we didn't want to get anyone worried about the Abomination in case he was safely confined, but we had to have some idea of where he was being kept if we were going to take action. "We're not sure if we can access the records from outside in case it alerts them to our presence, but if you can work out where it is, we can take it from there and make sure we know where to strike first."

" _I'll see what I can find_ ," Monty confirmed grimly. " _Just… don't take too long, OK? Jasper and I are buying some time by offering blood donations, but I'm not sure if that's going to keep these people satisfied for long…_ "

"We'll be there as soon as we can be," I said firmly, before the radio connection cut out.

It might give us an indefinite deadline, but we now had a potential 'in' to speak to our allies inside Mount Weather; the only question now was how best to use that advantage…


	21. A God on the Ark

"Excuse me?" Octavia said, after the two young women had taken a moment to process what Thor had just told them. "He… he's my _father_?"

"OK, how the _hell_ is _that_ possible?" Johanna asked. "Last I checked, Octavia's spent her life on the Ark, which isn't exactly somewhere you can just drop into and then _leave_ … and how do you _know_ he's the dad, anyway?"

"I can be sure that Loki was the father because no other Frost Giant would ever be in a position to be on the Ark," Thor said solemnly. "And I can be certain that Loki was in such a position because I was the one who forced him to leave the Ark and return to his prison after he attempted to escape there."

"Yes, and did you actually help the people of the Ark or leave them without a care in the world?" Loki asked.

"I hardly left without a care," Thor countered, a shameful expression on his face. "My reasons… were poor, I acknowledge that now, but-"

"Hey!" Octavia snapped. "I get you two don't like each other, but you've just overturned pretty much my entire life, so how about you two explain how this shit's even possible, because according to the history books, you," she looked to Thor, "took _him_ ," she pointed to Loki. "back to Asgard to face justice for what he'd done on Earth during the Chitauri Invasion?"

"I did," Thor said grimly.

"And as for how it came about," Loki noted, smiling in amusement at Octavia, "I will share that story. As you aware, my brother took me back to Asgard following the Chitauri Invasion. Many things happened over the next few years, a lot of which will go over your heads so I will simply tell what mattered, which is that I was able to escape from this prison. Unfortunately the last plan I enacted did not go as planned. Odin took great offence this time, and with our mother no longer alive to temper his worse traits, he threw me into the darkest hole on Asgard."

"Worse than this?" Johanna quipped, only to see Loki's stare.

"My present accommodations are humane by any standard. The prison that Odin placed me…" Loki actually shuddered at the memory. "That was a Hell far worse than when I was falling between dimensions after my battle with Thor on the Rainbow Bridge."

There was a brief silence at that statement, even Johanna's brash attitude faltering at Loki's grim expression, but the prisoner eventually continued. "Within the first week I was already plotting of a way to escape, but Odin had placed dampening cuffs on me rather than simply relying on the barriers of cell. It took me decades before I could come with a way to siphon and store what magic I could use into objects that I could later break, all so I could have enough magic in the air to draw upon and cast a spell to transport me. I didn't even care where I would end up, just as long as I was no longer in that hellhole."

"And you ended up on the Ark," Octavia realized.

"As I said, I was in such suffering I didn't care where I ended up, so long as I was far away from that prison," Loki said, "However I never expected to see Earth from a distance-"

"Hold on, let me get this straight," Johanna cut in. "You were trying to get away from prison on Asgard, and got yourself stuck on some space station when you _had_ to know that Earth was habitable?"

"And under the control of the individual who had essentially beaten him to a pulp during his first invasion of Earth," Thor noted, looking grimly at Loki. "You did not wish to expose yourself or others to the Maestro, I assume?"

"…Indeed," Loki said grimly, before he continued his story. "It wasn't long before I discovered by a lone man. He was already talking about getting someone, yet I couldn't allow myself to be discovered. So I killed him and took on his identity. I hid in plain sight, trying to regain my strength. Being free was one thing, but I had no intentions of remaining among humans for longer than I needed to..." he paused for a moment, a wistful look came across his face. "And then I met Aurora Blake. I had been working on one of the lower levels, a group of 'workmates' decided to trip me up as if it was funny. I didn't very much care to associate with anyone and they thought me very little of me. I was already plotting ways to hurt them without giving myself away when she came over."

There was a wistful tone in Loki's voice then. "She simply gave me help without want or care, and for the life of me I don't understand how I found myself so taken in by this single human woman that I, former Prince of Asgard, could not even make a proper sentence at that time."

"Quite a feat," Thor acknowledged, a brief smile on his face that was marred by the pain and guilt in his eyes, Octavia looking slightly tearful at this fresh story of her mother while Johanna was torn between her curiosity at the story and the feeling that she was intruding on a private moment.

"After that, I found myself making excuses to have our paths cross without looking deliberate. Eventually I moved in with her and her son, Bellamy. He was always amazed by my 'magic tricks'," Loki chuckled, looking over Octavia. "I had three years with them… with your mother and brother."

"Three years, and then what, you just left?" Octavia asked.

"In a way," Loki said looking directly to his brother, an action Octavia and Johanna picked up on. "He found me."

* * *

_Loki, beaten and restrained by chains as he was held down by Asgardian guards, their weapons at his throats. He should have known better than to assume Odin would not stop hunting him down. He was only thankful he had not been in his home with Aurora and Bellamy; who knows whether these brutes would have simply killed them to keep his presence secret?_

" _I must admit, I never thought you'd seek refuge among the species you detest most."_

_His head snapped up at the sound of Thor's voice. He saw him as well as Sif behind him. "When one spends decades in the hellhole that I was placed in by the Allfather, you really don't care where you end up, so long as you are free." He said, keeping as close to the tone of who his brother should think of him. "I assume then Odin ordered you to bring me back there."_

" _Father is dead. I now rule Asgard."_

_The disbelief could not be hidden from Loki's face. There was a momentary smirk on his brother's face before it faded away, leaving nothing but the grim visage before him. "You will return to imprisonment, but not to the hell that our father consigned you to. Instead you will be returned to your original cell. It has long since been reinforced from when the Dark Elves invaded."_

" _But…_ prison _? After this long?"_

" _No sentence can be too great for your actions against the realms of Asgard and Midgard," Thor coldly informed him. "Your assistance against the Dark Elves earned you the potential for leeway, but you threw it away in your subsequent coup; prison is all that awaits you now."_

"… _Very well," Loki sighed, bowing his head solemnly before looking urgently at Thor. "But before we depart, I have one last request to make of you."_

" _You are in no position to make demands, brother-"_

" _It is not for me," Loki replied, looking out of the observation window to observe the Ark, now floating in the distance. "If that structure had not been exactly where it was, there was a chance I could have died. The spell I cast to escape my torment could have left me in deep space, but at the time, death would have been preferable to remaining in Munkholme. Without ever knowing it, they saved my life. They deserve to be saved_ by _me without their knowledge as well."_

" _What do you mean saved?" Sif asked, speaking for the first time. "What mischief have you done to these poor souls, Loki?"_

" _I've done nothing Sif. As you know, our technology is leaps and bounds ahead of them, and while sorcery is my expertise, I have spent years on the Ark, have worked in maintaining it as part of my cover to blend in and I can tell you with certainty that it is dying. Within two decades without any help, the Ark will simply cease to function and anyone aboard will be dead." Loki looked up at his brother. "So I ask you brother, help them escape this fate. Take them off the mass of metal and send them to a new world."_

"… _take him away," was the cold response from the King as he motioned with hands for the guards to take him away._

_As he was taken away, Loki could only think about Aurora and Bellamy. He had argued for the people, but in truth, he had been fighting for them. He could not tell Thor about those he cared for, unwilling to risk what would happen if Thor knew there were actual people Loki cared for. He could only hope his brother hadn't become a heartless monster and wouldn't simply leave the people of the Ark to die. Aurora and her son would have a bright future on another world._

_Even if he never saw them ever again._

* * *

"You asked your brother to relocate the people of the Ark eighteen years ago?" Octavia looked at her father with astonishment.

"I did indeed," Loki nodded, before shifting his gaze to Thor with a pointed stare. "Only, that's not what happened… is it, brother?"

* * *

_Thor looked out over the Ark from the observation deck, grimly assessing the ugly mess of metal that had been so pitifully stuck together, before he heard footsteps behind him. "Is he secure?"_

" _He is," Sif confirmed. "And he isn't wrong. I had someone conduct their own casual assessment with our equipment without alerting the humans on board. They estimate the Ark will cease to support life within twenty to thirty five years-"_

" _And should that matter to me?" Thor cut in abruptly. "They'll find some way to overcome. Humans are good at surviving." He turned away from the window and walked past Sif. "We've spent long enough in the presence of fools. It's time to go home."_

" _That's it?" Sif asked, her voice showing her shock. "That's all you have to say? These people-"_

" _Humanity brought their fate on themselves," Thor snapped, turning back to glare at Sif. "They all knew the dangers of nuclear war, and yet they permitted themselves to be provoked into decimating their own planet so that their best chance of survival was that… thing."_

" _It was the best they could do-"_

" _After their own decisions crippled their best and brightest to be sacrificed like cattle on an altar so that the stupid and cowardly could live."_

" _You cannot judge the people on this vessel for the actions of the Maestro's slaves," Sif argued. "They are ignorant of everything that has befallen their brethren, and humanity are still entitled to our protection; we have an obligation to help them, especially we have the chance to do so. Jane would..."_

" _DO NOT DARE SPEAK HER NAME!" Thor roared. "How dare you! How dare you use her name in trying to defend these creatures when all you have ever been is envious of the love we had for each other! You dare defend these miserable beings with the human that meant more to me than any other! I will not aid those who have fallen so far; if they are worth saving after what they have done, let them save themselves or be damned forever!"_

_Moments passed before the king's rage faded enough to realise his own words, but more importantly realised that his right hand was bruised and had blood on it._

_Looking down, he saw Sif on the ground, looking at him in disbelief, her right eye swollen shut and her skin was broken, allowing for a trail of blood to trickle down her face._

_"... and you ask yourself how Mjolnir deemed you unworthy," she spat on the floor, disbelief fading to rage. Slowly and painfully she pulled herself off of the floor and began to walk away._

" _Where are you going?" the King of Asgard asked, only for his long-time friend not to respond. "Sif stop! Stop this instance!" Silence. "I am your king! I command you to stop!" Sif's silence infuriated him further. "If you don't stop I will..."_

" _Kill me?"_

_Thor blinked, the scathing words coming from his trusted friend, who refused to face him, even if she had stopped moving. "Exile me? Imprison me? I dare to speak my mind and you react at me like a petulant child? Not even Loki when he usurped the throne acted as you have these last few moments." There was a long pause, Sif deliberately letting her words sink in. "I let myself turn a blind eye to you for many years after Jane, after Banner because of our friendship and for my own hidden feelings for you, feelings I know now you will never reciprocate. You had only one love of your life, and you lost her. But you have never dealt with the loss, but merely let it, along with your defeat by the Maestro and the loss of Mjolnir, fester upon your soul like a cancer. I thought I could actually bring you back, back to the man I knew. To the man I loved."_

_Thor stood there speechless, wanting to move to her yet finding himself unable to move. He wanted her to look him in the eyes, to turn around…_

" _But now I see I have but one recourse left for that."_

_Finally she turned to him, but to Thor's shock, there was no emotion on her face, his old ally staring coldly at him despite the effort needed for her to make her following statement so coldly._

" _You are not my king. I do not recognize a man who would condemn thousands to death as a king I would follow, a king I would serve, or a king I would allow to rule me." Sif said without the slightest bit of emotion and Thor's horror removed her armor from her body, allowing it to fall to the floor, leaving her dressed only in her tunic. She unsheathed her sword, turning it to its double bladed configuration before splitting it into two swords. One she sheathed, while the other she tossed at Thor's feet. "I hereby enter exile on Asgard."_

_Thor shook his head in disbelief. "Sif, please don't this."_

" _Do not send messages to me, I will burn them. Do not try to send men after me, I will send them back to you broken and beaten. I will speak to no one but you and I will never speak to you unless you hold Mjolnir in your hands again. Until that day comes, goodbye, King of Asgard."_

_Thor watched, stunned beyond belief as Sif walked away and walked out of his life._

* * *

No one spoke at all. They just looked at Thor, his head bowed low, whether out of shame or simply lost in the memories he had just described, no one could tell.

"Sif hasn't been a part of Asgardian affairs or my life since the day I made that decision," he said finally. "I am not proud of what I did, or how I handled things with her, but..."

Anything else that would have been said was cut short by Octavia striking Thor in the face with her fist. The unprepared king was taken completely off guard by his niece's attack. He thought to chastise her as he got his bearings but stopped when looking at her. Her entire body was trembling with rage, her eyes burned with hate, hate focused entirely on him.

"It's your fault…" she hissed venomously. "Everything terrible that has ever happened to me and my family… is _your fault_."

"OK, that's a bit extreme; he didn't even know you _existed_ -" Johanna began, reaching out to place a hand on Octavia's shoulder only to stare in shock as the hand was suddenly covered in a thin layer of ice.

"You… stay… _out of this_!" Octavia snapped, clenching her fists before she punched Johanna in the stomach, her suddenly ice-covered fists packing enough force to knock the Avenger into the wall. As her fists began to sprout more jagged ice fragments, Octavia practically stalked up to the fallen Avenger, raising her hands for another blow before Thor grabbed her arm.

"Octavia! You are not thinking clearly!" Thor shouted, hoping to reasoning with her. "I understand that life on the Ark must be harsh compared to normal people…"

"You understand nothing!" Octavia roared back, the temperature of the room dropping sharply. "I lived underneath the floor of my mother and brother's quarters for _sixteen years_ because the Ark's laws only allowed one child per family! My mother should have aborted me in the womb but she loved me enough to have me!"

"My family's love for me was the only bright spot I had in that hell under the floor. And as I got older I learned the sacrifices they did in order to keep me alive. How my mother would whore herself out to members of the Guard to learn when they would be doing surprise inspections, so that I could hide to be safe. How Bellamy was training himself so he could be a member of the Guard himself one day to help me. And I actually thought that we could be together forever…" her eyes narrowed at Thor. "Until the day they found out. Would you like to know what they did when they found out about me, 'Uncle'? They threw me into jail… but not before I watched them space my mother out an airlock."

"No…" Thor said, his tone low as he stared at the girl, pain clear in his eyes as he stared at his 'niece'. As Johanna watched from the side, a quick glance at Loki showed the prisoner's keen attention to Octavia's story shift from horror to grief before settling on utter rage. Johanna raised Jarnbjorn defensively when Loki slammed against the prison barrier, roaring in rage as he beat his fists on the barrier. The shields were more than strong enough to hold Loki's weakened magic, but the 'explosion' caught Thor's attention long enough for Octavia to headbutt him while he was distracted, forcing her to release his grip on her.

"My first week in lock up, the Guard abused me day in and day out," Octavia glared indignantly at the ruler of Asgard, ice spreading further over her arms. "They hated me because I existed, going on about how they'd actually suffered because I was born and used up resources that could have gone to themselves, to their loved ones, instead of to an abomination like me! It got so bad I nearly died and that's when they got smarter about what they did cause they couldn't let me die in their care, 'non-exister' or not!"

"Octavia… I'm sorry…" Thor began, only for Octavia to violently shake her head.

"No, you're only sorry _now_!" she yelled, following her comment up by punching him in the face with her ice covered hands. The force behind them coupled with Thor's feelings allowed her to knock him off his feet and flat on his back. "Because apparently we're related! But you, you're just like them! Like all those other people in power!"

She pressed her advantage, getting on top of him, and Thor could see the loathing in her eyes. "You don't care about the rest of us! You only care about yourself!" She punched him in the face. "Everything is your fault!" Another punch. "It's your fault!" Another. "It has to be your fault!"

She continued to unleash her pain and rage upon her 'uncle', but Johanna could easily see that Thor wasn't even trying to defend himself, simply accepting her punches, bruises emerging on his face even as the force behind the subsequent blows began to fade away, rage and anger slowly shifting into grief.

"Damn you! It has to be your fault! It has to be!" Octavia cried out. "I _don't want to be the reason she's dead_ -!"

"No."

Octavia didn't say anything, but as she looked up at Johanna, the other young woman now back on her feet, it was at least clear that she'd heard the new Avenger's words.

"Your mother may have died because you existed, but that doesn't make it your _fault_ ," Johanna clarified, laying her axe down as she sat in front of the younger girl. "It's not like you had any say in being born or not."

"You don't-!"

"Know what you've been through?" Johanna finished. "Maybe I haven't been where you are, but I _can_ say for a fact that my parents were all killed because I told the gits in charge where they could get off for trying to tell me to prostitute myself to go along with the president's sick little power games."

Johanna took only slight satisfaction that she had both Octavia and Loki looking at her in shock after that comment.

"Somebody seriously wanted you to be a _prostitute_?" Octavia asked, the ice falling from her arms as rage shifted to confusion. "I mean, you told me… I guess I just…"

"Thought I was trying to shock you into calming down?" Johanna finished with an understanding nod, her expression solemn even as the pain in her eyes made it clear that this topic affected her deeply. "Believe me, I wish I was. 'Prostitute' might not be the right term as I wasn't exactly going to get paid for it myself, but… long story short, I was a minor celebrity back home, and the president of my country would get a lot of favours if he let the right people have some 'private time' with me."

"Banner?" Loki asked, looking curiously at Johanna. "He sold others for his own benefit?"

"I knew him as Snow, but we're talking about the same guy," Johanna nodded at the prisoner before looking back at Octavia, who was now standing in a small pool of what had once been her ice 'armour'. "Anyway, I told the bastard no, and he killed my family to make a point to anyone who might think to defy him later on; did the same thing to an old mentor of my team's leader, actually."

"Mockingjay?" Thor asked in surprise. "Captain Rogers was not-"

"It wasn't Rogers, Thor; it was her mentor from the Games after he won his own contest with a neat little trick nobody saw coming," Johanna clarified, waiting for Thor to nod in understanding before she continued. "The point is, your mom might have been killed because you existed, but she didn't die because you chose to do something and she ended up paying the price for it; you're not responsible for what someone else does, even if anyone wants you to think otherwise."

"But… but he left me…" Octavia protested, weakly indicating Thor as the Asgardian king stared sadly at her.

"He left the remnants of a civilisation that had let him down by killing off the woman he loved and driving one of his best friends insane," Johanna corrected, giving Thor a brief glare before she focused her attention back on Octavia. "Not saying he was perfect, and I agree that it was a bad call, but I like to think he'd have done something if he knew you existed, which is more than your Ark Council would've done if they'd found out about you before your mother pushed you out."

Octavia said nothing, the woman clearly physically and emotionally spent, the temperature of the wider room returning to normal as she slumped against the wall, staring listlessly at her father's prisoner.

 _Just what is this girl capable of_? the self-titled Bloodaxe wondered, staring at this young girl who contained so much cold potential. _And how much harm could she cause if she doesn't control it_?

"Lady Johanna, I-" Thor began.

"Don't," Johanna held up her artificial arm with a warning glare. "I get that you were in a shitty place after Bruce snapped and tore through you and the old guard, and I get that you probably thought we weren't worth saving back when you came to the Ark, but… well, thinking that you were just ignoring Earth and learning that you actually saw us and decided not to do anything aren't the same thing."

"I acknowledge my shortcomings and failures in this manner," Thor said solemnly. "I assure you, you cannot loathe me for my inaction more than I do myself."

"I get that," Johanna said, nodding at him before she let out a slight chuckle as she checked her axe. "Actually, I'm kinda surprised I'm taking this so well; think I'd have started swinging this thing at you along with Octavia if I'd found out about this a few months ago."

"Being an Avenger has a significant influence on our number in many ways," Thor noted with a grim smile. "I recall that Lady Romanov in particular became warmer as time went on…"

"The Black Widow was a people person?" Johanna smiled, ignoring the curious glance from Octavia as the young girl looked up. "She seemed a bit… I mean, I liked her, but-"

"It was easier for her later on," Thor explained. "You encountered her early in our career; she became far more personally invested as we spent more time together…"

His voice trailed off as he looked upwards, the suddenly awkward expression on his face helping Johanna realise what he was thinking about.

"It was her relationship with Bruce, wasn't it?"

"The closeness they shared was… a contribution to what befell him in the end… but what they became should not mar what came before," the Asgardian king said solemnly. "Whatever Bruce was when you faced him, he was once a good man; you cannot forget that."

"I don't," Johanna said, once again surprised to find that she meant it.

She had accepted the idea that Bruce Banner wasn't going to become Snow in his timeline now that he knew what he might become in one future, but the fact that she could be this comfortable thinking about the Bruce Banner from the history she knew as a separate person from the man he'd become was a surprise to herself.

Right now, however, the biggest concern facing her was Octavia; the girl had just experienced a massive upheaval of her entire life, and obviously needed more than a few moments to come to terms with everything that had just been dumped on her so abruptly.

"Please help her outside, I will join you shortly so I can escort you to quarters for your stay here," Thor said, turning back to his brother. "Loki and I have… there are things that need to be said between us that I would rather remained between us."

"Check," Johanna said, crouching down to help Octavia up, the girl staring blankly ahead of herself with tears still gleaming in the corner of her eyes as they left the prison.

"Whatever apologies or platitudes you think to say, save them brother," Loki said coldly, as Thor turned back to look at him. "I asked you to save them. My daughter's suffering is all because of your choices."

"I know how much I have failed her, Loki-"

"No I don't believe you do. Otherwise you would be as concerned about my daughter's life as I am." Noting that Thor was simply looking at him in confusion, Loki continued his explanation. "Octavia is a hybrid child of human and frost giant, but due to the magic that conceals my Jotun nature, her humanity became the dominant of the two."

"Until she came into contact with Mjolnir," Thor realized. "Back on Earth, she had no powers, no strength other than that of a normal human…"

"And now her two sides are at with her," Loki finished for him, his tone grim and foreboding. "You've already seen the results of this internal struggle; she has gained inhuman strength and the ability to manipulate ice, but she isn't actively controlling it. It's not something she can consciously will. In time, her body will be wracked with unbearable pain as her two natures fight. She could literally die from rejection."

"And how do we stop this?" Thor asked. "If there is a way to reverse-"

Loki shook his head. "You cannot reverse this. Her only chance is to do as I did when I learned the truth about my own origins. She has to hold it."

Thor looked at Loki in disbelief. "You can't mean that."

"It is her only chance to live."

"And if it even works, she will no longer be mortal," Thor argued. "Everyone she knows and cares about, Octavia will outlive them all. She will outlive her own brother, Loki."

"But she will be alive! And in the end, that is all that matters!" Loki shouted, hands pressed against the glass of his prison as he stared at Thor with a passion and a fire in his eyes the King of Asgard had not seen in such a long time. "I have failed in so many ways, brother. Don't let me fail in the only way that I can be a father to my daughter behind this blasted cage wall!" He narrowed his eyes at Thor. "Take Octavia to the Casket. It is her only chance to survive."


	22. Conversations on Tech-Related Matters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A break from my usual narrative style of alternating between Katniss' POV and a third-person chapter, but since the Avengers are just training at this point, I thought it was important to show how a certain '100' character is reacting to events back on Earth

_What does it say about me that I hate it when things are going well?_

Raven recognised that she was exaggerating her issues, but it felt like the simplest way to consider her feelings on the events of the last few days. Ever since that last attack on the dropship by the Grounders, Raven had been forcing herself to keep going as much as possible to try and keep the rest of the 100 alive, even if her back injury had made that difficult, but now that the Avengers had arrived on the scene, she found herself resenting their presence more than she appreciated it.

It wasn't that she didn't appreciate that the former residents of the Ark would be in trouble if they tried to go after Mount Weather on their own- even with the grounders to make up the numbers, they'd have trouble coping with the mountain's defences on several levels- but the fact that she knew they needed help on this one just left her feeling even more useless.

She didn't like to think of herself as conceited, but she'd been such a major part of events on the ground since she'd arrived here in that escape capsule that it felt like she'd been demoted back to some dumb kid ever since Mockingjay flew in with Clarke and the rest. Now Finn was dead, Clarke was flying around as part of a genuine team of freaking _superheroes_ , Octavia was off in some other dimension with a man who was king of that place and a woman with an artificial arm, and Raven was still trying to work out how she could walk with this goddamn leg…

OK, so she'd picked up that transmission from Monty back in the mountain, but that was just accessing the Ark's old radios and listening out; anyone with any kind of technical ability could have done that. It was like she'd taken several steps back in ability after that idiot shot her; she wasn't getting anything done and she didn't even have a clear idea what she could do to sort that out.

 _Shit_ , she thought, as she slumped down against the nearest suitably-sized box in the camp. _Everything's building up to some big showdown, and I'm having trouble just staying on my feet while the tech goes beyond anything I ever worked with_ …

"Problem?" someone asked. Looking up, Raven saw the gold-and-red figure of Iron Man walking up towards her, his helmet raised to reveal a surprisingly young face with fair hair.

"Just… stuff, y'know?" Raven shrugged.

"Been there," Iron Man smiled, reaching up to remove the helmet completely as he leaned against the wall to smile at her. "By the way, I'm not sure we've been properly introduced; Peeta Mellark."

"Raven Reyes," Raven replied, looking at him with a brief smile; she still might have some issues about Finnick's death, but even the darkest part of her recognised that Iron Man in particular hadn't had any clear role in that decision. "Thought you hero types were meant to have secret identities?"

"We're alternating on that a bit, considering that part of our reputation depends on what we did as people _before_ we started wearing these suits, but since you're so close to Clarke already there's not much point in keeping things from you even if we did believe in that policy," Peeta replied, before looking at her in a quizzical manner. "So, what's wrong?"

"Wrong?"

"You're sitting out here while half your friends are in Mount Weather and the other half are training to help us get them out," Peeta said, holding up a defensive hand as Raven glared at him. "I'm not saying that you don't have reasons for staying out of it right now, considering that you've got that leg to deal with, but I've heard enough to know that your mind's your best asset-"

"Compared to what you're packing?"

"Excuse me?" Peeta looked at Raven in confusion.

"God, I _get_ that I'm useless; you don't have to rub it in-"

"Look, if this is about your injury, I already said that your mind's your best asset, and once we've dealt with Mount Weather I'm sure we can get one of our doctors back in the old Capitol to take a look at your back-"

"The back I can work with; it's the _tech_ I have a problem with!"

"Tech?" Peeta repeated in confusion.

"I mean, look at what you're _wearing_!" Raven yelled, indicating the red and gold armour the young Avenger was wearing. "That thing might as well be bolts and iron held together by magic as far as I'm concerned, but you can fly around wherever you want and go head-to-head with a freakin' _god_ as long as you're wearing it!"

"It's not like I can actually _beat_ Thor in this thing-"

"But you can still _fight_ him!" Raven protested. "I'm meant to be some genius mechanic, and now I don't have a clue how that stupid suit of yours works-!"

"Hey, do you think _I_ know what I'm doing with this thing?" Peeta cut in with a broad smile.

"You… you don't?" Raven asked, looking at the armoured Avenger in confusion. "But… I heard you talking about creating some stealth suit-"

"I had the original idea and offer some input in how it'll look once it's ready; I can't actually create one myself," Peeta smiled, tapping his armoured chest nonchalantly. "Our tech guys stuck this armour together from surviving components from Tony Stark's original suits; I've been working with some of the best people we've got to learn how this works ever since we killed the Maestro and I'm still barely qualified on my own to do more than reattach the plates when this thing takes a serious beating, never mind actually making any additions to it! I only really got on this team in the first place because we needed someone who could talk to the crowd if we needed to win people over; if I didn't have the armour, everyone else on the team would _crush_ me in a fight!"

"And… that doesn't bother you?" Raven asked, looking at him in surprise.

"Not really," Peeta smiled at her. "I don't think of it as me being the weak link in the chain; I think of it as me being the one who has the chance to grow alongside the rest of them."

"Eh?"

"Just because I couldn't fight when I joined the team doesn't mean I can't learn how to do it now," Peeta explained. "I may not be the best in any field, but I'm working with three people who proved themselves against trained warriors before they had something to stand for, and I'm picking up more than a few new skills from everyone working on the armour with me."

"Right…" Raven said, nodding uncertainly as she took in Peeta's words.

"And anyway," Peeta smiled at her, "from what I've heard about you, you've got something that can't exactly be taught."

"What?"

"A natural knack for technology," Peeta smiled. "I mean, from what I've heard from Clarke, you didn't exactly have a lot of spare parts to work with stuck on that station up there, and yet you've not only managed to make it all the way down here in something that nobody believed could work, but you followed it up by making explosives and turning the original ship into a weapon when you couldn't have exactly had time to practise doing _any_ of that up in space."

"It's not like it worked perfectly-"

"Focus on the fact that any of the things you tried down here worked at _all_ ; if you're going to start judging yourself because you're not perfect, then you're never going to get anywhere," Peeta said firmly. "You're not stupid because you don't know how to do anything with our technology; you're ignorant because you haven't had the chance to work with any of it yet. If you want to improve, talk with Kat- Mockingjay when you have a moment; we could always use more technical support with these things."

"Tech support?"

"We've only got a couple of experts and a few assistants working on this stuff at the moment," Peeta smiled at her as he indicated his armour. "Add in all the equipment we have to keep in order back at the base, based on what I've seen since I got here and Clarke joined our sessions, with the right training, you can _definitely_ go on to become an expert in that stuff once you've been instructed in what you're working with."

"I'll… I'll remember that," Raven said, nodding at Peeta with a growing smile. "Thanks."

"No problem," Peeta smiled at her, before looking back at her leg with a slight smile. "And hey, at least you've still _got_ your leg."

"What do-?" Raven began, before his eyes flicked down to his left and the pieces fell into place. " _You_?"

"It was done before I got the armour, so it's a fairly simple prosthetic compared to Bloodaxe's arm, but it still hurt at the time…" Peeta began, before he gave Raven a new smile. "The point is, if I can get a new leg, they can certainly do something when your only problem is a damaged connection."

It was an awkward way of putting it, but despite how morbid the topic was, Raven could appreciate the sentiment behind it.

For the first time since Clarke flew into the camp, she felt like she could think about how she might be able to help everyone by getting better, rather than brooding over how she'd screwed up so far and was feeling like such a goddamn idiot…


	23. Campaign Plans

I was planning to jump back to Asgard at this point, but it occurred to me that another small-but-significant detail should be dealt with at this stage, and it gave Katniss a chance to talk with Clarke and Lexa about their upcoming plans; hope you like it

Walking to the Commander's tent with Clarke, I forced myself not to worry about the increasingly complicated variables of this situation.

Facing the Maestro might have been a challenge, but at least once Snow had transformed all our old problems were reduced to something I could hit; so far we just kept finding more complications and reasons to put off trying to take the fight to the mountain directly. Viewed from outside, my actions might have seemed cowardly, but I knew that every decision I'd made so far in the campaign against Mount Weather had been because I wanted to be sure I knew what we were up against. Fighting Snow had been simple because we'd known going in that anyone in that area would be guilty, but I wasn't going to agree to any kind of attack on Mount Weather when Clarke's report confirmed that there were innocent people in there rather than it being a pure military target. Training with Clarke and Anya to incorporate the Falcon and She-Hulk into our battle strategies was going well, and I was as confident as I could ever be that we could handle the Abomination if the time came for us to fight him, but getting into Mount Weather without killing innocent people just by opening the door was the biggest issue facing us right now.

When Clarke had suggested we send someone in to infiltrate the guards on the mountain's staff, I wasn't comfortable with the choice of spy, but I had to agree with the reasoning behind her decision. I was still working with Clarke and Anya to refine the idea of the three of us and Thor staging our capture at some later date so that we could initiate a break-out from inside the compound, Johanna would stand out too much with or without her artificial arm even if she'd been here to nominate for that kind of assignment, Peeta wasn't capable enough in a fight without his armour for me to feel comfortable sending him into the mountain, I couldn't spare Finnick as he was the most qualified pilot among us and we'd need the hovercraft to get away after the assault was over, and I certainly wasn't going to send Prim in on her own to deal with something this dangerous. There was nobody else in the support staff back at the Avengers compound that I would trust with something this important, I couldn't call in anyone else from Panem, none of our potential allies in the Coalition would be able to understand what we wanted them to do once they got inside the mountain, the adults in the Ark couldn't be guaranteed to go along with any plan we came up with, and most of the remaining delinquents were too impulsive to be fully trusted with something this important.

It was a risky plan, but however I looked at it, even if he wasn't a particular fan of the Avengers after Thor and Johanna had 'abducted' Octavia, Bellamy Blake was the best choice we had to get into that mountain without anyone realising what he was too soon. He still seemed to glare at myself and any other Avengers when he saw them, evidently still angry about us for letting Thor and Johanna taking Octavia away, but Clarke was hopeful that giving him a mission with a clear purpose would quash his concerns that we were trying to covertly take control of Camp Jaha as part of some kind of long-term agenda. Clarke recognised that Bellamy had anger issues, but he was also the only person from her people who clearly understood the scope of the situation facing us and had the necessary experience of life on the ground; everyone else who'd come down in the dropship was more used to following orders than taking the initiative.

The idea of sending Lincoln in to act as a Reaper to take Bellamy into the mountain was another part of the plan I wasn't entirely comfortable about, but Finnick had volunteered to have a couple of meetings with Lincoln to assess his mental condition. The former District Four resident might not be a qualified 'psychiatrist' (I was fairly sure that was the term used in the pre-Panem days), but his insight into people made him the best qualified of the Avengers to conduct that kind of analysis. Clarke had wanted to discuss the plan with her mother, but once I'd agreed with her reasoning, I'd decided that it would be best to get the Commander's 'permission' first, since the Coalition was far larger than the Ark. Panem and the Capitol were too far away to be directly involved in these events, so I saw no point in talking with them about it, but something this risky would require permission from the local authorities if we wanted to make it clear that the Avengers weren't here to just take over.

" _Heda_ ," Clarke said, leading me in nodding politely at the commander as we walked into the tent, the young woman sitting calmly in her throne as another man with shaven sideburns and a thick beard stood beside her, in a manner that put me in mind of a bodyguard.

"Falcon and Mockingjay?" the Commander said, looking curiously at us. "Is that the appropriate term?"

"When we're discussing Avengers business, it's probably easiest to call us that," I nodded at her. "How are things going at your end?"

"My… end?"

"Your part in our plan to attack Mount Weather," I clarified. "How's that coming along?"

"We progress," Lexa said solemnly. "While the clans gather, my best scouts are observing the mountain to confirm how many people travel to and from it on a regular basis, and we have identified the primary routes in and out."

"But you can't actually _use_ those routes," Clarke finished.

"Not without being caught," Lexa acknowledged.

"Which is where we come in," I explained. "We want to send Bellamy in as a spy."

"Bellamy?" Lexa repeated, before her gaze shifted to Clarke. "He is your… other leader?"

"He was," Clarke nodded. "I get that you don't have much reason to trust him, but I've spoken with Mockingjay and the other Avengers and we're all agreed that he's our best chance. I don't mean any offence, but to be blunt, none of your people would even understand what to do once they got inside the mountain even if we could give them suitable disguises, and there's nobody else on our side we can trust to stick to our plan rather than try and do things their way who isn't needed out here."

"You have that little faith in your people?" the man standing beside the Commander asked.

"Everyone we have faith in who would be capable of something like this has another role in the plan," I clarified. "We told you that the Avengers are an elite unit- we don't just let _anyone_ onto the team- but that means we only have so many people we can spare for something like this."

"Your plan is flawed."

"How?" I asked the man firmly.

"There is too much danger in-"

"What?" I cut him off with a warning hand. "Trying to stop Mount Weather? In case you hadn't noticed, that whole facility is heavily protected and has some very advanced weapons; this was never going to be safe!"

"We have existed in balance-"

"You've been letting them _rule_ you!"

When the man stormed forward while drawing a knife from his belt, I briefly wondered if I'd crossed a line, but just as the thought crossed my mind, I had already grabbed the shield from my back and used it to knock the knife out of his hand, following the move by holding my shield's edge against his throat.

" _Don't_ ," Clarke said, already having drawn a gun from her harness to point it at the man, a show of support that I appreciated despite the little time we'd spent together so far. "You try to touch Mockingjay again, and you _will_ lose that hand."

"You dared imply that I am not loyal-"

"I didn't mean it _that_ way," I corrected the man immediately. "What I _meant_ is that right now Mount Weather are basically the ones in charge of this situation because they have the power and you're letting them set the rules of your interaction with them as they abduct your people for their own ends."

"She… is correct," the Commander said grimly, looking solemnly at the other soldier. "We have never taken their orders, but the Mountain Men have always… set the terms of our encounters with them; we react, but nothing more."

"But it doesn't have to be that way now," Clarke said firmly. "We can help you turn the tables against them, but you have to trust that we _can_ help you."

"And what promise do we have that you will not use this opportunity to put yourself in their place?" the guard said, glaring between Clarke and I. "This alliance is dangerous-"

"It's _all_ dangerous," I countered firmly, refusing to push the shield any further; I was becoming frustrated with this man's attitude, but I wasn't going to start killing people just because they annoyed me. "The world is never going to be perfectly safe, but sometimes you have to have faith that people are here to help you because it's the right thing to do. If you don't want our help, we'll leave, but right now, your options are either let us help you or stand by and let the mountain continue to take people from your clans to sustain themselves, which means that, best-case-scenario, nothing is going to change for your people."

"Best… what?" the guard asked, hostile gaze shifting to confusion as he looked at us.

"The best possible outcome of the situation we're in," I clarified, deciding to step back from the man when I noticed that he had put his knife back into his belt. "I understand that this is… well, I only became an Avenger a year ago and I still wonder at some of the things I've seen, so I can't imagine what it's like for you to have us all taking control of the situation like this."

"We do not fear you-"

"And we don't _want_ you to fear us," Clarke said, looking reassuringly at him for a moment before she turned her attention to the Commander. "As… Mockingjay… has told you, the point of the Avengers is to fight the threats that no normal forces could withstand. We're helping you against Mount Weather because they have access to advanced weapons and an old adversary of the original Avengers that we can't allow out to threaten anyone else, but we also want _you_ to be safe. If all we wanted was the destruction of the Mountain, from everything Clarke's told us, we could send Thor in to smash the doors and we'd have the job done, but we're trying to take it down and keep as many people safe as we can."

The Commander looked thoughtfully at us for a few moments, her guard staring inscrutably at us from the side, before she nodded.

"You say that your plan requires you to send in a spy," she said at last. "What would his purpose be?"

"Based on Monty's information, we've provisionally identified the area where they're keeping the Abomination, but we need hands-on information if we're going to work out what we can do about him before they decide to let him out, and we also need to know where the mountain's key rooms actually are," I explained. "Bellamy's our best candidate to get in there without drawing too much attention to himself, and we're talking with Lincoln about the possibility of having him… pose as a Reaper to help Bellamy get in."

"For what purpose?"

"So that Bellamy will just look like another prisoner," Clarke explained. "Once they're through the gate, Lincoln can create a distraction so that Bellamy can get into the mountain, find a disguise, and then work out the best plan of attack from inside; he'll have a radio so that we can talk him through anything he doesn't understand immediately, and nobody in there will know he's out here."

"Is that safe?"

"As safe as anything," Clarke answered. She had spoken with us about the risk of Lincoln being essentially 'addicted' to the blood samples that Mount Weather used to create the Reapers, but had also expressed faith that he had the necessary personal strength to overcome any residual addiction. I still wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea, but we all knew that there was no better candidate than Lincoln to pass himself off as a Reaper when we didn't know how closely Mount Weather paid attention to their numbers. "No plan's perfect, obviously, but we're working on every loophole we can think of, and anything's better than just sitting here until someone inside that mountain gets jumpy and decides to let the Abomination out before we're ready.

"I know you haven't really seen how dangerous Anya can be in her current state," I said, taking up the story myself, "but I've seen what something like the Abomination can do in a fight, and even if I think we have a good chance of stopping him in a direct confrontation, I don't want to give him the opportunity to get out if there's anything we can do to keep him contained."

"You would fight the mountain when they control something that dangerous?"

"I'm hoping they're not crazy enough to let something that dangerous out of the box to deal with our forces when they don't know that you have the Avengers on call now," I informed the man grimly; the more I spoke with him, the more I was reminded of some of the people at District Thirteen who had opposed my plans with the Avengers just because they didn't see why I was doing things that way. "That's why we need to send someone in to confirm where the Abomination is before we mount our attack; if there's any way to keep him wherever they've trapped him, we need a man on the inside to find it."

"And then?"

"Then," Clarke smiled, "we confirm where everything important is inside that mountain, send in our primary strike team to take down the mountain's defences from the inside, and follow it up by having your armies and ours mount another assault from the outside."

"And that will end the Mountain?" the Commander asked.

"Allowing for factors such as whatever other external defences they have to send against us and however many men are available to attack us," Clarke added. "There are more details to refine before we're ready to attack, but we _will_ be ready for them."

It was unlikely to be that simple, but at the same time I knew that there was nothing more we could do about this situation. The mountain might not be as dangerous or individually powerful a threat as the Maestro had been, but with the weapons they had in there, with or without the Abomination, we had to take the mountain out before they decided to turn their firepower against the rest of the country. As I grew in my role as the leader of the Avengers, I had become more determined to judge people by their actions rather than their pasts, but after everything Mount Weather had done to those they considered inferior just because they lived a primitive lifestyle, I wasn't comfortable letting them reach a point where they would be able to spread beyond that mountain.

Whatever the risk of unleashing the Abomination, we had to stop the mountain now…

"For what it's worth," I put in, feeling the need to reassure the Commander of something I could guarantee, "Anya's integrated well into our team, but she's made it clear that if it comes down to a choice between obeying me or obeying you in any big decisions… she'll obey you."

The Commander didn't reply to me verbally, but the slight nod and smile she gave me was enough to show that she'd understood why I'd told her that much.

The odds against us were going to be a challenge, but we seemed to be forming a good balance between our team and the Coalition, and anything I could to assure the Commander and others of our good intentions had to help that goal. Anya was proving to be a good addition to the team, but I didn't want her to feel like she was in a position where she felt that she would have to choose between us and her people, so the best way to do that was to make sure she understood I would never put her in that position on purpose.

So long as the Commander and I never had any major disagreements about what either of our sides had to do in a crisis, we should be all right, but I liked to think that Anya was coming to respect me as a leader in my own right despite her greater physical power compared to the rest of the team…


	24. The Blake and the Casket

"OK," Johanna said, looking urgently at Thor. "You're telling me that only is this girl not even fully human, but now we've got to tell her that we're going to need to turn her into something that isn't even human if she's going to _live_?"

"There is no 'we' in this-" Thor began.

"You gave me your old axe and let me come up to this freaky ass other dimension to confront one of your biggest, most shameful secrets; you trusted me with enough of your little secrets in the last few hours that I think we can say we're in this for more than just the fact that we're Avengers together," Johanna said, looking at him with a pointed stare before shifting to a brief smile. "Besides, I came up here to be sure you took the human factor into account; I'm not going to stay out of things just because you don't find it comfortable."

"I appreciate your perspective, but this is… with all respect, this is not a situation that you should be involved in," Thor explained solemnly. "You are not responsible for what has happened to Octavia-"

"We're Avengers, Thor; you might have screwed up when you ditched her like that, but that doesn't mean you deserve to take all the guilt for screwing up once when you're trying to do better," Johanna said. "Let's just fill her in and let her take it from there."

* * *

Staring down at herself as she sat in the room set aside for her- a room almost the size of her family's old residence on the Ark, but even larger now that she was the only person in it- Octavia wasn't sure what to think.  
  
She'd spent every moment since she first set foot on Earth trying to define herself outside of her family, whether by learning useful skills to running off with Lincoln to training with Indra, and she'd never felt like she'd found her place. She'd started to wonder if there was just something broken in her, if her screwed-up upbringing meant that she could never adjust to being part of a 'community' bigger than her and Bellamy, and then…  
  
 _God_ , she thought, smiling morbidly as the thought hit her again, _my bio-dad is basically a freakin' GOD…_  
  
She was never going to fit into a human community; she was something _more_ than human…  
  
Raising her hand, she tried to call upon those icy abilities she showed during her struggle with her 'uncle'. She could feel the temperature actually drop within her hand as she fought to bring it out, but the moment frost had covered her hand, the outstretched limb began trembling uncontrollably. She tried to hold it steady, but a sudden pain overcame her before she could really focus, forcing her to the ground while icy streams were coming from her hand.  
  
 _Damn it! Not again!_ Fighting back the pain, she willed herself to cut off the source of the frost and the streams stopped coming from her hand, which had turned blue once more and was taking longer to return to her human skin tones.  
  
"Why does it hurt so much?" she asked through clenched teeth. When she had been so angry with her 'uncle' she had created a snow storm inside the prison without even trying and she didn't feel any pain. Try to create some ice at will and she felt nothing but pain.  
  
"What have you been doing?"  
  
Hearing Thor's voice she looked up from her spot against the wall, the last active original Avenger staring solemnly at her, Bloodaxe just behind him. It wasn't hard to work out what he was referring to, given how parts of the walls were still iced over from earlier failed attempts at harnessing her power.  
  
"What does it look like?" she spat at the two Avengers, inwardly grateful for something external to rant at. "I'm trying to make this work whenever I want to."  
  
"And you're intending to turn the room into a popsicle?" Johanna quipped.  
  
Shaking her head, Octavia slowly started to get up. "I have powers. Actual powers which I already know can manifest without warning. If that happened around my friends or Bell, I could hurt them. Trying to get a grip on them seemed like the only thing worth doing while I'm here."  
  
"And yet you're only hurting yourself," Thor said, sounding concerned as he looked towards her hand, which showed signs of her failed attempts.  
  
"Pain I can handle," Octavia rebuffed him. "This power I have, I want to control it. I want to use it to help protect the people I care about. To make sure I am never the victim, never again. I just have to find a way to control it without the pain."  
  
"That won't happen."  
  
"What?" she glared at the self-proclaimed god of thunder. "If this is about-"  
  
"It has nothing to do with your resolve, Octavia; it is deeper than that," Thor explained. "There is an imbalance within you, awoken due to your exposure to Mjolnir."  
  
"An Imbalance? What imbalance? And how does your special hammer have to do with it?" Octavia questioned.  
  
"My hammer was forged from a dying star, soaked with cosmic energy. This energy reacted with your unique physiology, awaking your Jotun blood from your father that had been suppressed by the traces of the magic that he used to stay in his Asgardian form, as well as your human half from your mother," Thor explained. "It is because of that awakening that your powers have been activated as they were back on Earth, but the unnatural nature of this upheaval has created an imbalance between your two halves… An imbalance that will claim your life if left untreated."  
  
She had nothing to say to that. The powers that she wanted to get control over were actually killing her? _How messed up is that?_  
  
She took a breath to calm herself before looking back at Thor, focusing her mind on the key detail of that last sentence. "You said it would claim my life if left untreated. What is the treatment?"  
  
"That's… where it gets tricky, apparently," Johanna put in.  
  
"Indeed," Thor said, turning slightly so that he was standing just outside the door to the room. "Follow me, and I shall explain at the Vault."  
  
Having a lower-level room in this castle might suck in terms of the view it offered, but it did have the advantage of making it easier to visit anything on those lower levels relatively discreetly. Within a few moments, the trio had descended down a flight of thick stone steps and were walking along a circular blue corridor with various alcoves on either side of it, each alcove containing some strange object. Octavia briefly noted the large gold glove and the sharp contrast of its position beside a strange blue cube.  
  
"This is the Vault," Thor explained, as he walked to the end of the corridor while the two young women watched him. "My father used it as a storage place for the most dangerous weapons belonging to those entities who would go to great lengths to ensure their final success."  
  
"All of these?" Johanna asked, looking around the vault in surprise. "What do they do?"  
  
"It is safer if you do not know," Thor clarified solemnly. "At this moment, the only thing that should be of interest to you is this."  
  
As Thor indicated the end of the corridor, Octavia and Johanna found themselves looking at a strange box, apparently made of blue glass with curved black edges. The box was just an unusual artefact to Johanna, but Octavia stared solemnly at it, her eyes slowly widening as she held out a hand towards it.  
  
"Hey!" Johanna cut in, slapping Octavia's outstretched hand down. "Hands off until Thor talks!"  
  
"Right…" Octavia said, shaking her head as she looked at the two Avengers. "Wh… what is that?"  
  
"The Casket of Ancient Winters," Thor explained, his tone solemn as he stood to the side to display the casket. "My father Odin took this from Laufey, King of the Frost Giants, when he tried to use the Casket to bring about an eternal ice age upon the Earth many years ago. It has remained hidden from them ever since, and its power has never been tapped, save once."  
  
"Someone used this thing?" Johanna asked.  
  
"After a fashion," Thor clarified. "When Loki touched it out of curiosity, my father told me that it temporarily undid the magic that made him appear as an Asgardian."  
  
"Uh… OK," Octavia looked uncertainly at Thor. "Not that learning about my bio-dad isn't interesting, but what does any of this have to do with me?"  
  
"Loki had become aware of your condition before even I was aware of it. Just seeing you was enough for him to become aware. He is of the belief that if you hold the Casket, given its very nature and his own experience, that contact will in fact help to stabilize the imbalance within you." Thor explained.  
  
"She touches this thing and that's it?" Johanna looked between the box and the other girl in surprise. "That's… simple?"  
  
"Even if it correct, it will not be that simple," the Asgardian king noted solemnly. "I must be honest with you, Octavia Blake; there is no way of knowing what holding the casket will do to a hybrid such as yourself."  
  
"You said my dad-"  
  
"Loki had simply been a Jotun, masked by magic to look Asgardian," Thor clarified. "You are a hybrid of enchanted Jotun and human; I am comparatively confident that this will not kill you, but that is all I can guarantee. You may go through some actual physical changes, and then again, you may not; there simply is no way of knowing, but you deserved to know the risks involved."  
  
"OK," Octavia said, looking between the two Avengers. "So in a nutshell, I touch this and it might stabilise whatever's up with me, but even in a best-case scenario, I won't be human any more afterwards?"  
  
"And you'll die if we do nothing; I'd like to stress that part-" Johanna began.  
  
"I get that," Octavia said, looking solemnly at the one-armed woman for a moment before she looked at Thor. "In other words, I have to change everything I am just because of your mess?"  
  
"OK, this part isn't Thor's fault!" Johanna cut in. "You'd have been in trouble even if he hadn't taken Loki away like that-"  
  
"But I'd have known what to expect when I was growing up," Octavia noted.  
  
"Maybe," the ace-wielding Avenger acknowledged. "Or maybe you'd have just known that _something_ was going to happen; he said himself this kind of… cross-breeding doesn't exactly happen a lot!"  
  
For a moment, Octavia stared silently at the one-armed woman, before she turned to study the Casket.  
  
"If I don't do this," she said grimly, "I will die. Bellamy will be alone. Lincoln will be alone. And if I do this there's the chance I'll change into something else."  
  
Neither Thor or Johanna said anything at first, and then the younger girl turned around to look Thor dead in the eyes. "There's no choice to make, really."  
  
Without warning she grabbed both sides of the Casket, the blue box emitting gusts of wind and snow like never before as if it reacted to the one holding it. Johanna was almost overwhelmed before Thor moved in front of her, spinning Mjolnir to create a small counter-storm against the force of the elements in front of them. Staring in awe at the sight in front of her, Johanna watched as snow and ice whirled through the air, her vision only just blurred by the hammer spinning between them, until, after a couple of minutes, the wind vanished once again.  
  
With the storm faded, the two Avengers could only stare at the chances in Octavia. She retained her long black hair, but her skin had become a lighter blue shade, as opposed to the blue-grey skin hues of the Frost Giants, and her eyes were a dimmer shade of red as opposed to the burning red of Asgard's old enemies. As the last of the impromptu storm vanished, Octavia took her hands off and stepped back, taking deep breaths and bent over. After a few moments, her skin returned to its original tones, even as the Ark's first younger sibling remained in clear shock.  
  
"Octavia, are you alright?" Thor asked, even as he saw her straightening up, yet her head was bent down, not allowing him or Johanna to see her face.  
  
"Am I alright..." the girl replied, her voice strong despite its disbelieving tone. "Am I alright?"  
  
With those words, she opened her right hand and generated a beam of ice from her open palm, which swiftly formed into a crude ice sabre. It was a basic weapon after some of those Johanna had seen in the Games, but considering the level of control she had before holding the Casket, the progress spoke volumes of its power.  
  
"I have never felt better," the girl confirmed, now staring at the Avengers with a satisfied grin, even as the dark shade of red that still dominated her eyes made it clear that the process of tapping into her newly-learned heritage had changed her in other ways. The smile on her face left Thor in particular unnerved, as it put him in mind of his brother in the days when Loki had still been an ally, presenting them with a grin that promised nothing but trouble for any who stood in her way.


	25. The Leader and the Mother

In terms of tactical planning, I wasn't sure if I was in a good place or a bad one as our campaign against Mount Weather continued. As things currently stood, our plan to send Bellamy and Lincoln into the mountain had apparently worked out, based on our discreet observation of the Reaper patrol they'd infiltrated entering the mountain, but at this point all we could really do was wait until Bellamy managed to get back in touch from the inside and/or hope that Lincoln got back to us when he was let out with the other Reapers on the next hunt. Prim was preparing for an infiltration mission if it took Bellamy too long to get back to us, but I was privately praying that it wouldn't come to that; as much as I was coming to accept my sister's desire to become part of the team, there was a big difference between accepting that she was growing up and giving her a key role in our most crucial confrontation to date.

Still, even if I couldn't control what was happening inside the mountain, or what Thor and Johanna were doing with Octavia up on Asgard, I was cautiously optimistic about how things were going on Earth. Clarke had taken a brief personal scouting trip to check on the progress of the small group led by ex-Chancellor Jaha, but once he'd reached a certain distance from our current territory she'd flown back, satisfied that he was sticking to his public plan of searching for the 'City of Light' and not interested in following him any further. The whole concept of the City of Light sounded strange to me at best, but I wasn't going to question what anyone chose to believe in after I'd gone from a simple hunter to the leader of the world's mightiest heroes in just over a year.

As far as matters went inside the camp, I was cautiously optimistic that our various groups were continuing to come together fairly nicely. Clarke and Anya had gone out to talk things over with Lexa recently- from what I'd heard Lexa had wanted Anya to come alone, but I considered it a step in the right direction that our new She-Hulk had asked Clarke to come anyway- but their walk had been unexpectedly interrupted by what all descriptions I'd heard could only define as a mutated gorilla (most likely due to radiation rather than a runaway Capitol experiment; the Capitol had always favoured dogs or similar animals for mutts to limit the risk of their mutations' intellects 'evolving' too far by accident). The gorilla had managed to take out a couple of Lexa's private guard, but Anya had triggered her transformation into She-Hulk in time to stop it doing worse to Clarke or Lexa, and had then brought the animal to our compound so that some of our scientists could examine the animal just in case it was anything we should be concerned about on a larger scale. Peeta had actually started talking with Raven about a few modifications to the Iron Man armour, even if some of the technical details they were discussing were completely over my head, and Finnick was giving some of the Ark guards lessons in hand-to-hand combat, proving to be a far more patient teacher than some of the Grounders they'd been working with so far.

 _We may be down a powerhouse with no fixed idea what we're doing next, but at least our general preparations are going well_ …

"Excuse me?" a voice said from behind me. Turning around, I noted that Clarke's mother, Abby Griffin, was standing behind me, looking anxiously around herself as though she was expecting to be attacked at any moment despite this part of the forest being fairly quiet.

"Yes?" I answered, looking nonchalantly back at her; I was still uncomfortable about dealing with foreign leaders, but after staring down the Maestro, Abby was fairly easy to work with. "What brings you out here?"

"I just…" Abby shrugged. "Well, I can't exactly call myself a chancellor if I don't get a better feel of what's outside the walls of our camp, can I?"

"And you came here to talk to me?"

"Who better to keep me safe while I'm out here than the leader of the Avengers?"

I thought about questioning her decision to come this far in the first place, but decided against it. From everything Clarke and the rest of the 100 had told us about the citizens of the Ark, Abby coming out this far on her own accord had been a great achievement for her on its own, and this area was safe enough thanks to Lexa's patrols.

"Fair enough," I nodded at her, indicating the fallen tree I was currently sitting on, smiling slightly as the older woman sat down beside me. "So, issues of Mount Weather aside, how are you enjoying Earth?"

"It's… not quite what I expected," Abby said at last, looking at the forest around us with an awkward smile.

"Yeah, Callie told us about that," I noted, smiling back at her, taking care to keep my tone neutral considering what Callie had implied about the Ark's reaction to life on Earth. "What was the bigger shock; that this place was survivable, or that someone was down here already?"

"Definitely the third."

"The third?" I looked at her in surprise.

"We'd already suspected that Earth was survivable, so learning that there was actual life down here wasn't a complete shock, but the idea that… that _you_ were here…" Abby began, awkwardly waving her hand at me.

"You couldn't exactly expect this world to produce Avengers?" I asked with a brief smile, deciding not to be offended at her scepticism.

"…To say the least," Abby acknowledged with an uncomfortable smile of her own. "Actually, that brings up a point I've been meaning to ask you about; if we're talking about addressing people, should I call you 'Mockingjay', or-?"

"Mockingjay's fine," I said, deciding that Abby at least deserved a half-truth answer even if I didn't feel comfortable giving her my true name. "How about you? Do you prefer 'Chancellor' or 'Doctor' Griffin?"

"Just… just call me Abby," Clarke's mother smiled back at me, before her brow furrowed in confusion. "I'm not sure I asked; where did you get that name?"

"It's the name of a type of bird that evolved after the destruction of the old world," I explained, hiding a smile when I realised that this was the first time I'd explained the origin of my name to anyone. "The original Mockingjay came into existence when a species of genetically engineered birds escaped into the wild and bred with mockingbirds; the name was adopted as a symbol of rebellion because the bird only existed because the government that used to rule Panem made a mistake."

"And you took on the name to remind your people that your enemy could make mistakes?"

"That was how it started, anyway," I confirmed. "I became more than that when Captain Rogers gave me his shield; the idea of the original Mockingjay was nothing more than a representation of their mistakes, but he gave me the chance to make that name something more."

"That's… interesting," Abby nodded at me, clearly uncertain how to react to that story. "So you turned a mistake into a symbol of rebellion?"

"Basically," I nodded. "Captain Rogers helped out by repainting the shield and giving me additional training in how to use it, but he made it clear that I had to do this because I believed in it, rather than because I could be another symbol for this mess."

"Another-?"

"Long story that this isn't the time to talk about," I cut her off. "Anyway, like he said back then, fighting for the old world wouldn't accomplish anything, so I had to become a symbol for the new one, which included repainting the shield to reflect that news."

"That's… interesting," Abby smiled uncertainly at me, before her uncertain smile became a more focused question. "So… why are you helping us rather than them?"

"Them? You mean Mount Weather, right?"

"Yeah," Abby nodded. "I mean, they were already here-"

"We didn't know about their existence until now and they've made it clear that they consider themselves superior to anyone already out here," I cut Abby off, refusing to let that misconception stand. "They might have been on Earth before you, but so far our first encounter with them saw them shooting us just when we were trying to talk, and our first encounter with _your_ people saw Callie ask us for help; in the end, we like you better than them."

"That's… blunt," Abby mused, smiling awkwardly at me.

"It's what I do," I smiled, before narrowing my eyes firmly at her. "My point is that, while I'm not denying that there are a few issues to sort out in terms of your long-term relationship with the rest of the people down here, so far you haven't done anything that can't be excused as self-defence or a mistake based on limited data, whereas the mountain has attacked and experimented on innocent people just because they think they have the right."

"…Fair point," Abby nodded in acknowledgement. "I'm… I guess Clarke's report just made it seem rougher down here than it is…"

"Oh, it's rough down here; you just need to be sure you know the rules before you start any fights," I responded, before my expression became grimmer. "Which is why we're doing our best to keep the mountain learning about us until we're ready to mount the final attack; if they decide it's dangerous enough out here to merit letting Blonsky out of his cell…"

"He's that bad?"

"If you have any records of the Hulk up on the Ark, all you need to know is that Blonsky is the only individual entity of the old world who managed to stand up to the Hulk in a straight fight by himself."

"And the reason you don't call more of your people for help is…?"

"Because, as we've told Clarke and others, Panem is in a very delicate place at this point. Our standard army pretty much exhausted its resources fighting among itself before we managed to stop the Maestro, and there are still enough potential rogue pockets of resistance out and about that it would be better to avoid giving them any reason to think they can take action while we're busy somewhere else."

"You think you can protect us-?"

"We can," I said firmly. "There's only so much we can do at a time, but that doesn't mean we can do nothing. Right now, Panem needs to rebuild itself to a society where the Hunger Games aren't the key event of the year, which means that we need to focus on eliminating any potential threats so that nobody's tempted to create new scapegoats and hence new Game contestants. Right now, bringing Mount Weather into the picture…"

"You think they'd start these… Games… again if they captured the Mountain?"

"I'd like to think that we wouldn't, but it was a close enough call getting people to agree not to host a 'final' Games with the children of the Capitol," I explained. "The second-last Hunger Games didn't end as the Capitol would have liked, and their last Games were interrupted before it could reach a definitive conclusion, so add in the fact that our people built an entire culture around the Games for the better part of a century, and Steve's… well, he's worried about them slipping into old habits."

I hated to admit that to anyone, but right now, Abby needed to be clear on just how precarious things were on the ground so that she'd recognise the fragility of her own position. The remnants of the Ark could have a great deal to offer us if we handled them properly, and its people were going to be an interesting addition to the culture we were creating after the fall of the Capitol, but that depended on everyone recognising where they stood, which included the Ark accepting that they weren't in charge of things down here. Abby had accepted my input when we talking with the Ark council so far, but with the trouble I still had with Coin, I couldn't help but wonder how much of that was just because she saw me as more of a security consultant or something like that…

Even later, I couldn't describe exactly what 'tipped me off' to the presence, but as soon as I'd heard the faint sound of a bullet being fired, I had moved the shield into position to take the shot directed at Abby and I before I consciously registered what was happening, my reflexes heightened to a level I never would have believed possible before I trained with Clint. Glancing over the shield to confirm what I had just sensed, I quickly adjusted my hold on the shield and threw it at my target, striking the Mount Weather soldier just as he was readjusting his rifle, knocking the weapon out of his hands.

"What-?!" Abby began as I stood up, turning around in time to realise what I'd just thrown the shield at and duck to the side as the shield returned to my hand. As soon as the shield was in my hand, I reached for my quiver and drew an arrow, launching it at the dazed mountain man. As I'd planned, I'd drawn one of what Beetee had taken to referring to as the 'boxing arrow', in that the tip was comparatively blunter than normal and it struck the target with blunt force rather than a sharp point. I needed to aim it just right to knock the man down rather than just knock him off-balance, but it was still a target I could make on my own even before Clint's training session. Taking a moment to make sure that the man was going to stay down, I hurried over to my would-be assassin, tossing his gun over to Abby as I crouched down to confirm that he was unconscious.

"He's down," I said, glancing back at Abby with a smile. "We're safe."

"Safe?" Abby repeated incredulously. "That's all you can say? How can you be so… _calm_ about this? Someone tried to kill you-!"

"In case you missed the memo, everyone who was loyal to Snow when he was alive has spent a _great_ deal of time trying to kill me since I became Mockingkay," I smiled solemnly at the older woman, moving to pick up my would-be attacker. "If I spent all my time freaking out because people were trying to kill me, I'd probably be dead or booked in for intensive therapy."

"But… all this _death_ …"

"You're worried about what this is all doing to Clarke, right?" I smiled tentatively at the older woman, the smile becoming more confident when she looked at me in surprise. "My sister trained to heal people herself; I understand how it's harder for you to accept that those you love have to kill to survive."

"…Maybe," Abby sighed. "I just… I wanted to protect her…"

"Sometimes all we can do is our best, even as we acknowledge that it won't be enough," I replied, even as I adjusted my grip on my new prisoner. "Just be assured that you raised your daughter right where it matters; I've only known her for a short while, but I'm already sure that I can trust her to make the moral decision."

"The moral decision?"

"Making the right decision is important, but I want Avengers who'll consider the moral decision first," I explained. "After our time in the Hunger Games, people can get used to thinking of the 'right' decision as being the one that lets them get home even if nobody else does; Clarke's focus is always on getting everyone home safe, even if it's a risky plan that may or may not work."

"I see," Abby nodded in tentative understanding, before letting out a brief smile. "She must have got that one from Jake."

"Her father?" I asked, remembering enough of Clarke's stories not to press that issue.

"He always was the moral crusader," Abby said, still smiling at the memory before her expression fell. "As for me… I thought I knew what was right for our people, but…"

"The best leaders have to recognise the balance between what we have to do and what we're willing to do," I said, recalling one of the most important lessons Steve had taught me when I first accepted that my new role as an Avenger meant that I had responsibilities that extended beyond killing the Maestro. "From what Clarke and Callie have told me, your intentions were always good, but if you don't let yourself adapt… well, that's where everything falls apart."

"We move or we break?"

"That's one way of putting it," I nodded at her with a smile, before I bent down to pick up our downed attacker. "Anyway, right now, we should probably get this guy back to your camp; we're in too precarious a position to give up any potential source."

To her credit, even if Abby still seemed shaken at what had just happened, she accepted my recommendation, placing one of our attacker's arms over her shoulders while I took the other arm over mine, even if I had to move my quiver to my front while keeping my bow and shield in my hands; if he woke up before we got to the Ark remnants, or if we had to fight other would-be assassins, I wanted to be ready to make a stand.

* * *

As I entered the camp, I wasn't entirely surprised to see Clarke pacing in the main clearing at the centre of the village. I'd speculated that any forces from Mount Weather going after Abby or me would have likely targeted Clarke as well, but I had faith that she could handle anything they might throw at her, even if she was clearly troubled by something right now.  
  
"Is everything OK?" I asked, walking up to my newest teammate.  
  
"You captured someone too, huh?" Clarke asked, indicating the still-unconscious man draped over my shoulders.  
  
"Hit him with the shield; it's a surprisingly effective blunt instrument when you know what you're doing," I explained. "How about you?"  
  
"It was a close one, but he wasn't expecting Anya to transform after a near-shot to the heart," Clarke explained, glancing over at a nearby 'hut' with a faint smile as the aforementioned Avenger walked out of the building. "She's… can anything actually _kill_ her in human form?"  
  
"Steve once told me that he'd heard that Bruce Banner once tried to shoot himself in the head and the Hulk spat the bullet out afterwards; my explosive arrow only took out the Maestro because it did so much damage so quickly that even he couldn't heal from it," I explained. "So how's your guy?"  
  
"Battered, but… he might live," Clarke said, looking uncertainly at the man her mother and I had captured. "But if you've got one…"  
  
"You can't be-!" Abby began.  
  
"We don't have a lot of options right now, Doctor Griffin," I told her, amending her title in my thoughts; I'd wanted to get through to Abby as a person, but right now I had to act as the leader and make the tougher decisions. "Mount Weather won't back down just because we've fought off one assassination attempt; we need to consider what works best for our long-term agenda right now."  
  
"And that includes killing someone when they're down?"  
  
"That includes making sure known enemies aren't going to keep trying to kill us."  
  
"As well as making sure their attention stays focused on _us_ rather than inside," Clarke noted, looking thoughtfully at me. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"  
  
"We send these guys back to the mountain while telling them we're preparing for a direct attack?" I asked, smiling at the thought. " _That_ could be something worth trying…"


	26. The Missile

Looking at the material spread out in front of me, I wondered if I was ever going to be ready for something on this scale. Beetee had contacted me to confirm that he'd managed to gain access to Mount Weather's computer files from back at the compound, but he had made it clear to me that he was only able to discreetly look at their files or he'd risk tipping them off to the existence of a group out there that could actually rival them technologically. As a result, he could provide us with a general picture of what was going on inside the mountain,

He'd been unable to find explicit information about where the mountain kept Blonsky, but he had been able to establish why they'd taken so long to go after the dropship. From what Beetee had found, Mount Weather had assumed that the dropship was nothing more than a standard meteor and ignored it until the Coalition had begun to gather around the area, which at least explained why they'd taken so long to try and take anyone prisoner.

We were still working on exactly how we'd get into the mountain, but in the absence of conflicting information, we had to assume that there was still time until we reached a point when Clarke's friends still stuck inside that mountain would be in danger…

"Does it ever get easier?" I looked at Steve as we sat in the heart of the Avengers facility, once again looking over everything we'd assembled about Mount Weather's defences since this began.

"This isn't just about the strategic issues of this problem, is it?" Steve looked at me with an understanding smile.

"It's just…" I sighed, shaking my head as I looked at the plans. "This isn't the hardest target we've gone after since we came together as a team, but this _is_ the first time we've gone after a target like this when we had to worry about innocent people getting caught in the crossfire."

"You attacked Snow in the Capitol-"

"While doing everything possible to keep the fighting contained to areas where his people would be while giving everyone outside the combat zone a chance to get to safety; we don't _have_ that option here…"

"And that's why I wanted you as an Avenger, Katniss," Steve smiled at me. "Because you care about that kind of thing even when you don't know any of the people you're worried about."

"Thanks," I said, putting my concerns aside for a moment to appreciate that compliment before I looked more seriously at my mentor. "But seriously… how do I deal with this?"

"There is no easy answer to that, Katniss," Steve said solemnly. "As a wise man once wrote, if you try not to get anybody killed, you end up getting _everyone_ killed. No matter what you do here, your actions are going to put lives at risk; what we have to do is work out the plan that minimises innocent casualties while ensuring that our enemies take maximum damage."

"And I get that; I just…" I began, before I sighed in resignation; Steve couldn't give me any information I didn't have already, so the best way to take my mind off this was to find something else to think about. "I'd better go and see how Clarke's team is doing; we still need Bellamy's update from inside."

* * *

"Nothing yet?" I observed as I walked into the small 'hut' that had been set aside as our planning room for anything relating to the current 'war' with Mount Weather.  
  
"Nothing definite, anyway," Clarke clarified. "Raven's still looking over the dam, but there's not enough for us to know what we can do in there to that would cut their power without cutting their air supply in the process."  
  
"On the bright side," Raven put in with a smile as she glanced at me, "with your tech guys available to help out, we _have_ been able to put together more of those tone generator things they use to control the Reapers."  
  
"Which we'd be using to knock them out, right?" I put in.  
  
"If all goes well, yeah," Raven said, her expression becoming slightly anxious as I fixed her with a pointed glare. "Hey, I just meant that this is going to be a delicate situation in the middle of a war; you can't guarantee anything against these numbers!"  
  
"Considering the acid fog's still a possible threat, everything we can knock out right now is a good thing…" Clarke noted, just as the radio came on again.  
  
" _Ark Station, do you read me_?" Bellamy's voice reported. " _Anybody there_?"  
  
"The birds are in the house, Bell," Raven put in with a relieved smile.  
  
"And for the record, Mr Blake," I said, moving in to take the radio from Raven, "when we say 'every three hours', we _mean_ 'every three hours'; this isn't the kind of situation where you can play around, you know!"  
  
" _I don't have time for this,_ Mockingjay _; our friends are in trouble here_!" Bellamy countered (I reminded myself that I had no reason to feel angry because he didn't show me respect; he didn't know what I'd done so he could only acknowledge my skills based on what he'd seen). " _They've started taking them from the dormitories every three hours_!"  
  
"Taking them where?" Clarke asked.  
  
" _I don't know. We tried to follow them, but they went to a classified level. Maya borrowed the schematics of the vent system from her boss, and I'm still trying to find a way in_."  
  
"You've got the earbud and walkie we asked you to find, right?" Raven asked.  
  
" _She's just getting them now_ ," Bellamy replied. " _I'll get back to you when I'm mobile_."  
  
"And I'll go over our map," Raven added.  
  
"I'll-" Clarke began.  
  
"Be accompanying me to TonDC to brief Lexa on our situation," I said firmly.  
  
"I have to stay-"  
  
"Why?" I asked her, part of me surprised at how easily I was settling into a command role with a relative stranger after months thinking of myself as the public face of the team. "What can you do here that can't be done by someone else with more relevant experience?"  
  
"I'm the one in charge-"  
  
"Which means you have the authority to delegate when it comes to your people," I countered. "You were the leader of the 100 when you got down here, but now you're also an Avenger, which means you have wider responsibilities; you're not neglecting Bellamy if you leave Raven and Peeta here to keep in touch with him."  
  
"I…" Clarke began, looking at me for a moment before she signed in resignation. "You're right, and I _know_ that; it's just… I…"  
  
"You've been the one in charge so long it's hard to let that go," I nodded sympathetically, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I actually had the opposite problem when this started; I spent so long being told what to do by everyone else that it took me a while to get used to the idea that I was the one calling the shots for the Avengers."  
  
"Yeah, I guess going from propaganda piece to leader of Earth's mightiest heroes would be a jump for anyone," Raven smiled.  
  
"Steve helps," I admitted with a slight smile. "I mean, he can't replacemy _dad_ , but he… he does a good job at being my mentor."  
  
It was something I'd never tell the original Captain America directly, but I could share it with these people who'd lived such unique lives even before they joined me in becoming Avengers (and the fact that Clarke was the one in the field while Raven was 'just' support staff didn't change the facts). Steve might just consider me his protégé in terms of becoming the symbol for a new generation just as he had been a symbol for his… but the more time I spent with him, the more comfortable I was considering him a new father figure.  
  
"Yeah…" Clarke smiled for a moment, before she looked resolutely at me. "OK, let's get going before I change my mind."  
  
"I'll send Peeta here before we leave," I said as I glanced over at Raven. "He can keep in touch with Clarke over the radio in her gear."  
  
"I have one?" Clarke looked at me in surprise.  
  
"It's one of the features Beetee added when he learned that we were bringing that suit back onto the team," I explained. "You have the standard team comm links, but you're also automatically linked to Peeta, and Thor once he gets back; it was thought that it would be a good idea if our fliers could coordinate efforts while being sure that nobody could track them through the transmissions."  
  
"Nice," Clarke said, looking at me with a new sense of approval before she adopted a more serious manner once again. "OK, let's get going."

* * *

It wasn't quite as smooth a ride as when I was flying with Peeta, but I had to admit that travelling with Clarke had its interesting points as well. While the Falcon gear wasn't as fast as the Iron Man armur, as Iron Man was designed to completely protect the wearer from issues such as G-force and friction, the Falcon's lighter design made it more manoeuvrable so long as Clarke remembered to retract the wings in tight spaces, and the wings even gave her a limited gliding ability for a few moments at a time, so long as she'd built up enough speed before turning off its rockets. I would have liked the chance to talk more with her about our current plans, but considering Clarke's need for experience in dealing with the Falcon suit, I decided that it would be safer to stay quiet and let her focus on flying.  
  
Eventually we reached the village where the Coalition forces had gathered to prepare for our final assault, Clarke adjusting her aerial position to head towards the ground before she adjusted her stance to land on her feet. I jumped off her back once she was less than a metre from the ground, nodding politely as the Coalition all turned to look at the two of us in surprise while Clarke touched down, the new Falcon offering her own awkward nods to the soldiers around us before we headed for Lexa's tent.  
  
"Mockingjay, Falcon," Lexa said, nodding briskly at the two of us as we walked inside, where she was currently talking with a few other figures I was fairly sure were other leaders in the Coalition. "All is well?"  
  
"As well as can be expected," I replied. "Our inside man is still working his way through the mountain, but so far all of our information about its internal layout appears to be accurate, and he's close to identifying the most important areas of the mountain."  
  
"And this will benefit us?" one of the generals asked.  
  
"We're trying to attack a heavily fortified area; anything we can do to stop them trying to attack _us_ in return has to be a benefit," I informed the older, scarred warrior, taking care to balance my tone between respecting his own experience without appearing too deferential.  
  
"You have great confidence in your warriors," another general observed. "We have heard many tales of their prowess…"  
  
"And tales will be enough until the time comes for our battle with the Mountain Men," I cut the other man off, guessing what he was about to ask and wanting to nip that idea in the bud. "The more we demonstrate our abilities here, the more likely it is that the Mountain will learn what we are capable of; surprise remains our greatest asset."  
  
"You claim to have power and yet you fear the Mountain?"  
  
"Criticise us for being cautious when you've done something other than sit here for years," Clarke countered with a warning glare.  
  
"You dare-!"  
  
"Falcon dares because it is true," Lexa cut in, shooting a glare at the general. "We can defend it all we wish, but the fact remains that the Mountain Men have held an unspoken power over us for far too long, and the Avengers and the _skaikru_ are our best chance to end this for good."  
  
The general glared at Lexa for a moment, but finally nodded in acknowledgement of our points as he sat back down once again. Lexa was about to continue when Clarke held up a hand and indicated her blinking earpiece, which indicated that a message was coming in from back at the compound.  
  
"Excuse us, please; we have an update coming in," I said, automatically grabbing Lexa and Clarke's wrists and walking out the back of the tent to a nearby cluster of trees, only to look awkwardly at the Coalition commander when I realised what I'd just done. "Uh… sorry about that-"  
  
"You had urgent information to relate to me and you are not explicitly part of the Coalition; some leeway is granted to you in these circumstances," Lexa said, looking at me in a manner I couldn't quite read before she turned to Clarke. "What is wrong?"  
  
"We're getting contacted by our allies back at our compound about the situation in the mountain, so I thought you'd prefer to hear it directly before we share it with the generals," Clarke explained, before she reached up and adjusted her radio. "Raven, Iron Man, you're on loudspeaker, and it's me, Mockingjay and the Commander here; what's up?"  
  
" _Progress has been made, but whether it's good or bad is a matter of debate_ ," Peeta replied.  
  
"In what way?" Lexa asked.  
  
" _Bellamy found a room where they were talking about bone marrow extraction and worrying about our message that we were planning an attack_ ," Raven explained. " _Good news is that he didn't hear anything to suggest they know for a fact about our new assets- guessing Miss Green didn't change in an area where our chosen survivor could see her before we knocked him out- but Bell heard something about some guy called Whitman and a missile_ -"  
  
" _Missile_?" Clarke and I yelled simultaneously.  
  
" _They want to take out as many targets as possible in one go, and they know that you and at least some of the Coalition leaders are going to be in that village now_ ," Peeta said, his tone grim. " _It sounded like this 'Whitman' person is responsible for setting up a target for them, so you might be able to stop it if you can find him in time, but if that's not an option, can you evacuate the village once the missile goes up_?"  
  
"No," Lexa said.  
  
"Excuse me?" Clarke looked sharply at the Coalition leader. "We have time-"  
  
"But we don't have a _reason_ ," I cut my new teammate off, looking at Lexa in understanding. "If we evacuate the village now, Mount Weather may realise that we have an inside man and we lose a major advantage and put everyone inside in danger at the same time."  
  
"But we can't just do _nothing_ -!" Clarke began.  
  
"I didn't say we couldn't do _anything_ ," I interjected, looking at Lexa and Clarke with a smile as I tapped Clarke's radio. "Peeta, how soon can you get down here?"  
  
" _Under half an hour_ ," Peeta said, understanding my request before I'd even made it. " _Raven's making good progress hacking the acid fog system; I'm on my way_."  
  
"But if he comes-" Lexa began.  
  
"Even if Mount Weather realises that we have Iron Man on our side, there's no way anyone could be certain that Peeta being here was anything more than a really freaky coincidence," I clarified. "The three of us are here already, and Iron Man's one of the strongest Avengers; we could easily have been drawing up battle plans and asked him to come along once he finished something back at the base."  
  
"You make many assumptions," Lexa noted.  
  
"Sometimes you _have_ to make assumptions," I countered. "It was an assumption that let me kill the Maestro."  
  
"As I recall from your tales, it was the explosive arrow you shot into his head-"  
  
"Which I had no guarantee would actually _kill_ him," I pointed out.  
  
"It's better than just waiting here to get blown up or running away to let everyone _else_ get blown up," Clarke pointed out.  
  
"People die in war, Falcon," Lexa looked at Clarke with a particularly pointed stare. "You cannot ignore this."  
  
"And I'm not," Clarke said. "I'm just not willing to let these people die _now_ when we have a good reason to save them that doesn't compromise our inside man."  
  
Lexa looked at the two of us in a solemn manner for a few moments, and finally nodded with a slight smile.  
  
"Mochof," she said at last. "Do it."  
  
"Check," I replied, before turning back to Clarke's radio. "Peeta, you and Raven keep an eye on things, and get ready to leave for here as soon as Mount Weather start preparing to fire the missile; leave enough space between the two events that they can argue your timing was just a coincidence."  
  
" _I'll need Raven and Beetee to run a few estimates on how fast I can get to you, but I think that should work_ ," Peeta replied.  
  
"See you soon," I said, before I looked back at Clarke and Lexa. "OK, if they're using a spotter to get the target for that missile, he can't be too far from here, which means I might be able to find him-"  
  
"You?" Clarke and Lexa said at once.  
  
"Even if he saw me come here with you, so far we haven't given Mount Weather any reason to see me as anything important," I explained, as I indicated my Mockingjay costume. "Add in the fact that I'm not explicitly needed here and have some training in stealth, and I'm the best candidate of the three of us to try and find him and make it look like chance."  
  
I acknowledged that this plan was risky, but I could guess what would happen if we tried to tell anyone else in the village about the latest threat from the mountain, and there was no way we could evacuate this entire village without giving away Bellamy's existence to somebody. This patrol and calling in Iron Man for air support could just about work if I was careful about it, but anything more public would raise too many questions.  
  
"…Very well," Lexa nodded at me. "It is your decision; if you are sure that you can achieve this, I will not oppose it."  
  
"Thanks," I nodded back at her, making a mental note to thank her for her understanding once I'd found the spotter; Lexa had been friendly enough so far, but I got the impression that she wasn't used to dealing with people who could explicitly defy her orders as individuals, considering the respect she received from her people and our status as Avengers defying so many rules.  
  
It wasn't that I was going to start taking it for granted that people back in Panem would basically fall over themselves to give me anything I asked for because I was Mockingjay, but at the same time it was nice to know that I could speak and get people to listen, as opposed to the way I'd been basically pushed around when the resistance started.  
  
 _God, if Steve hadn't been there, I'd have been nothing more than a propaganda tool for whatever side had me_ , I reflected, once again struck by how lucky I'd been that I'd been chosen by Steve Rogers as his unofficial successor. Being an Avenger was a stressful job even when I wasn't deliberately searching for people who wanted to kill me, but everything I did as Mockingjay made the world a safer place for innocent people.  
  
Granted, I still hated it when I was on this kind of stealth mission, discreetly hunting a possible target in the dark when I had no way of knowing where he was or even if there was anyone to find-  
  
A Reaper appeared in front of me and I immediately sprang into action, striking the feral man in the side of the head with my shield before taking on the next opponent. The next couple of Reapers were fairly standard opponents, but when the fourth Reaper didn't immediately lunge at me like a particularly human-shaped mutt, it took me a moment to realise who it was.  
  
" _Lincoln_?" I said, lowering the shield as I looked at Octavia's sort-of-boyfriend (there was probably some term for their relationship in the Coalition's culture that I should look into learning later). "What are you-?"  
  
" _Get away_!" Lincoln yelled, leaping towards me even as I dived to the side; I didn't need to be Steve Rogers' student to see that Lincoln was holding back. "I can't… I can't fight…"  
  
"You can," I cut him off firmly. " _We_ can."  
  
"Bellamy Blake is a prisoner because of me-" Lincoln began.  
  
"He's still active inside the mountain," I cut my new ally off abruptly, guessing where he was going with that and wanting to get him back on track. "Whatever happened when you took him to the mountain, we have our inside man; now I just need you to get yourself together and show me where your handler is."  
  
"My… handler?" Lincoln repeated uncertainly.  
  
"Mount Weather wouldn't send a group of Reapers this size to attack a camp this big; you're here because you were _guarding_ -" I began, before I heard something in the sky-  
  
 _Not some_ thing, I realised as I glanced up, smiling as I saw two intense orange glows heading towards each other. Two _something_ s… _and one of them is on my side_.  
  
For a moment I was tense, anxious about whether the plan I had created and the young man I had such complicated feelings about could actually work, but then I saw the small blue bursts of repulsor energy leap from one golden glow to strike the other, followed by an even more brilliant explosion at the other end, and I relaxed.  
  
"What… was that?" Lincoln asked, looking up at the sky in shock.  
  
" _That_ , Lincoln," I said, looking at the ex-Reaper with a smile, "was Iron Man taking out a missile."  
  
" _Iron Man to Mockingjay_ ," Peeta's voice sounded over the radio I'd pre-linked to Clarke's Falcon gear. " _Missile intercepted; should I backtrack_?"  
  
"Not right now; we're still working on our final plan of attack," I replied, mind already considering how the Mountain Men would react to this turn of events and how we needed to respond to keep them thinking a certain way. "Take another assessment of the area and come down to me as though you're going to tell us what happened."  
  
" _Understood_ ," Peeta said, the remaining glow now turning around to head towards our camp.  
  
"OK," I turned back to Lincoln, "Peeta can tell Clarke and your Heda what happened; in the meantime, care to help me find your spotter?"


	27. After the Missile

Standing in the middle of a panicked village, Clarke was privately amazed at how easy it was for her to start helping out. The Coalition had been her enemies for longer than they'd been her allies since she'd arrived on the ground, she'd barely been an Avenger for more than a couple of weeks, and now, when faced with a Coalition village in a panic, her first priority was to assure everyone around her that they were safe.

Granted, the village was comparatively calm after what had happened, considering that they'd just witnessed a massive explosion in the sky and had to have seen Iron Man flying through the air for the first time, but there were still enough people shaken at what had just happened for Clarke to feel needed. The Falcon armour attracted a few concerned stares, but so long as she kept the guns holstered, there was enough 'armour' for villagers to just assume she was wearing unusual clothing, and the fact that Lexa was with her probably added further reinforcement of the idea that she wasn't a threat.

"You cope well as a fisa," Lexa noted, as the two young women walked away from the last woman she'd examined.

"My… my mother was one back in the sky," Clarke said, deciding to stick to the key details right now. "Well, she's still one now, but at the moment she's more occupied acting as our peoples' leader to devote herself full-time to that…"

"You are not their leader?"

"Well… I have _some_ authority down here, but it's not official or anything," Clarke shrugged, not wanting to waste time talking about her peoples' complicated leadership dynamic when there were so many other things to be focusing on right now. "I mean, I wasn't explicitly chosen by my people for the job, but when we came down… it wasn't easy, but everyone else was just talking about freedom because they couldn't face our responsibilities, or just didn't _think_ about what we'd need to do long-term…"

"It is the burden of leadership," Lexa mused. "We so often receive such power and responsibility precisely because we are the ones willing to bear the responsibility, even if we have never sought power for the sake of power."

"Something some people never learn themselves," Clarke smiled solemnly. "That's actually how the Avengers started."

"In what way?"

"Before the first bombs fell… the Avengers came together to stop a madman who thought he had the right to put himself in charge of everything," Clarke explained solemnly. "He had power, and he was very old, but his method of putting himself in charge involved unleashing a lot of monsters on people to prove how strong he was."

"I… see," Lexa said, looking at Clarke in a probing manner that still avoided giving away anything else.

"The point," Clarke continued, "is that one of the most famous moments of his conquest is that, during his first major public appearance, the Avengers' enemy allegedly said something about how the human race was _made_ to be ruled, and some old man stood up and told this guy that, even if he thought he was unique, there were always men like him, which was why the world would always need people like the Avengers to fight them."

"And that is why you join them?"

"Yes," Clarke said. "The Avengers only failed to stop the war that destroyed the world because… well, I don't know the full story, but one of their most powerful members went through a series of terrible events, and they weren't able to help him until it was too late."

"And that will not happen now?"

"These new Avengers know what to watch out for, and… to be blunt, the one who fell last time had some mental problems that none of the current team have," Clarke said, not wanting to insult the Hulk's memory by implying that he'd been weak in some way for going insane after everything else he'd been through. "We're taking care, and we're providing everyone with a support network that should prevent that from happening to anyone else-"

The sound of a body hitting the ground briefly made Clarke panic, but she soon calmed herself down when she looked up and saw that it was only Katniss and Lincoln dropping a man to the ground, particularly when she noted that the man in question was carrying a particularly advanced-looking rifle despite dressing in grounder-esque leathers.

"From Mount Weather?" she asked her new team's leader, already noting that the man's leathers were slightly too clean to be 'real'.

"That's my guess, anyway," Katniss confirmed, looking down at the man as she twirled an arrow in one hand, her other arm close to her back as though prepared to draw her shield. "He's not wearing any obvious protective gear, but considering what we're worried about…"

"They're escalating the experiments?"

"Most likely," Katniss confirmed, before she looked at Lexa. "He's out for the moment, but considering that we have an agent in the mountain already, I thought it might be an idea to keep this one alive to interrogate when he's conscious; even if he tries to lie to us, it might give us some idea what to expect."

"Even when he lies?"

"That just shows he's afraid of us, which gives us some idea of how much of an impression we're making on them," Katniss smiled slightly. "I may not have liked the propos some of District Thirteen were trying to get me to film before Steve recruited me, but I got the impression that every side was trying to say that they were doing better than they actually were."

"Propos?" Lexa looked curiously at the Avengers' young leader.

"You don't want to know," Katniss said, expression briefly grim at the thought of what her life could have been if Steve hadn't been part of District Thirteen, before she shrugged and turned back to the man lying before them. "Anyway, shall we see what this guy has to say for himself?"

"How?" Clarke asked.

"I just gave him a quick knock, so the old way might be best; do either of you have any water?"

Smiling slightly at the question, Lexa passed Clarke a container of water, which the new Falcon then proceeded to throw in the face of their prisoner. With that act, the would-be assassin's eyes practically popped open, leaving him sputtering indignantly before he realised who was gathered around him.

"OK," Katniss said, arms folded as she studied their prisoner. "Considering what you were about to do, I'll assume that you realise that the Coalition is a bit more prepared for you than you thought?"

"How?" the man said, staring in particular at the shield hanging from Katniss's arm and the complex harness Clarke was wearing. "You're not smart enough-"

"There is a difference between ignorance and stupidity," Clarke cut the man off with a cold glare. "You'd realise that if you'd actually done anything with your vaunted knowledge in that mountain apart from hide away and wait to use it."

"We were trying to _survive_ -!"

"Against what?" Katniss interjected, fixing the man with her own intense stare. "You might call the Coalition 'savages', but they haven't done a _thing_ to you that somebody else didn't start first. Maybe if you'd actually approached them diplomatically and _asked_ them to donate blood for your people, they'd even have been willing to share with you; you're only here because you think they're inferior."

"Have you _seen_ the way they live?" the man countered incredulously.

"That's called working with what they have; they're not stupid just because they haven't had the opportunity to create more," Clarke said, surprised to find herself moving to stand beside Katniss. "Besides, considering that we know that you're going to take the blood of your prisoners so that you can get out of that mountain in the first place, do you honestly think you're in a position to call anyone _else_ monsters?"

"How do-?" the man began, eyes wide in horror before he stopped himself, mouth practically slamming shut as he glared at the assembled Avengers. For a moment Clarke wondered what they should do next, but that thought ended when Lexa struck the man in the face with a punch that sent him to the ground.

"Can I ask why you did that?" Katniss looked at the Coalition leader inquiringly.

"He was surprised at the idea that we knew that much and was determined to stop talking; knocking him out at this point encourages him to think that we are not interested in his information."

"And… aren't we?"

"We are, but now, when he regains consciousness, he will understand that we will punish attempts at defiance," Lexa clarified.

"What…?" another voice said, the Avengers looking around to see Abby walking uncertainly towards them. "What's going on here?"

"Missile strike," Katniss shrugged. "Iron Man intercepted it, but the shockwave still knocked us off-balance when it blew."

" _Missile strike_?" Abby repeated, staring incredulously at the Avengers' young leader. "And you just- you-?"

"We stopped it," Clarke finished, smiling slightly at her mother. "We're the Avengers now, Mom; this is what we do."

"You… but you're just-?"

"We haven't 'just' been anything for a long time, Doctor Griffin," Katniss said solemnly, glancing up with a smile as Iron Man came down to land beside them, raising his mask to reveal Peeta's solemn face.

"Doctor Griffin," he said, looking firmly at the current Chancellor of what was left of the Ark, "we all understand that you're in a difficult situation and doing your best to adjust, but we are in the middle of an extremely dangerous situation here and facing the kind of threat that could endanger hundreds of people at the very least. We try and stay on the right side of morality, but you need to accept that there are lines we have to cross and risks you have to take if we're going to save lives; whatever you might like to tell yourself, being the 'good guy' doesn't mean we can just do the right thing and that's that."

Abby looked at the armoured Avenger for a moment before she sighed and studied him in a more solemn manner.

"You… you're right," she said at last, looking apologetically at the Avengers. "I… I know that this isn't the world I thought we were coming into, and I don't have the right to judge you; I just… I…"

"You spent so long thinking you'd come down here to rebuild civilisation that it's hard to recognise that we're not actually _needed_ here," Clarke finished with a smile.

"Anyway," Peeta said, looking over at Katniss, "assuming that they're not going to fire another missile any time soon, shall I get back to the compound and see how we're coming along with plans for the assault?"

"Warn Mariner that we're going to need the jet ready soon," Katniss confirmed, glancing ruefully upwards even as Peeta flipped his faceplate down and took off once again. "We'd better hear from them soon…"

A warning glance from her daughter stopped Abby from asking who 'they' were, but Katniss liked to think that, just like her mother and Prim, the other woman recognised that the injured lying around the camp were the greater priority right now.

Watching as Abby moved among the Coalition members, Katniss made a note to bring her to the compound at some point; it might do Prim some good to get some medical training from someone of Abby's unique background…

* * *

"Peeta?" a voice said from the door of what Peeta was surprised to find he was considering his 'lab' after a relatively short time.  
  
"Oh, hey, Prim," Peeta said, looking at the door to see Katniss's sister looking anxiously at him, the girl Katniss till affectionately referred to as her 'little duck' wearing the black outfit of the Black Widow. "Everything OK?"  
  
"Just… dealing with a lot right now," Prim shrugged, before her gaze shifted to Raven. "This is… Raven, right?"  
  
"That's me," Raven smiled at her. "And you are?"  
  
"Primrose Everdeen," Prim replied, holding out a polite hand to the mechanic.  
  
"Mockingjay's sister?"  
  
"That's how it started, but I'm also training as a healer, and… well, I'm working on being the new Black Widow."  
  
"Really?" Raven looked at her with a smile. "Nice job, kid; that's a pretty big gig to be taking on."  
  
"Well, when your sister starts a revolution, you feel like you have a lot to live up to," Prim replied, smiling awkwardly at the mechanic.  
  
"You know Katniss has never expected you to be anything but-" Peeta began.  
  
"I know that, but it still… it doesn't change how I _feel_ ," Prim cut in, her tone awkward even as her eyes gleamed with the fire of her older sister. "I know she'd rather I stay safe, but at least she's _trying_ to understand why I want to do this…"  
  
"Older siblings are always protective of the younger ones," Raven put in. "Hell, Bellamy keeps trying to protect Octavia even when she makes it clear she's had enough of that; wish I could give a few more examples, but I didn't exactly have many to give you."  
  
"You don't?" Prim looked at Raven in surprise.  
  
"The Ark had a strict one-child policy, remember?" Peeta smiled at Prim. "Octavia just being born was a crime on its own; most couples up there would have only had one kid, and there were all kinds of rumours about what would happen if you ended up having twins that I _don't_ want to talk about."  
  
"Oh," Prim said, looking at Raven with a new sense of sympathy. "That's so…"  
  
"Eh, you learn to cope," Raven shrugged, with a manner of feigned nonchalance that even Prim could see wasn't genuine. "'Sides, hard to miss what you never really thought was an option… and I probably wouldn't have had a great sibling dynamic anyway…"  
  
"You wouldn't?"  
  
"Let's just say my mom wasn't a great example of any kind of position relationship, considering that she was a bitch who drank so much it's a miracle I didn't die of foetal alcohol poisoning," Raven noted.  
  
"Oh," Prim said, looking at Raven with a new sense of sympathy. "Did she…?"  
  
"Hit me?" Raven finished, shaking her head. "Never went that far, but that would have required her to stay sober long enough to see what she was doing; mostly she just took my share of the rations for herself."  
  
"Welcome to the club," Peeta noted.  
  
"You too?" Raven looked at him in surprise.  
  
"My mother had… well, she had issues," Peeta shrugged. "It starts with her fixation on the idea that she was my father's second choice, escalated when I fell for the daughter of the woman who would have been his _first_ choice, and it never really got better."  
  
"Katniss told me she… basically gave up on you when you were Reaped?" Prim put in uncertainly.  
  
"She thought your sister had a chance of winning the Games but made it clear she doubted I'd last beyond the bloodbath," Peeta noted.  
  
"Didn't your dad do anything?" Prim asked. "He always seemed nice…"  
  
"He was, but he just… I'm not sure if he didn't see what mom was doing or just didn't want to know, but either way, it was…" Peeta sighed. "I never wanted to ask him directly because I wasn't sure which would be worse."  
  
"Worse than knowing your dad let your mom do that to you?" Raven asked.  
  
"Learning that he didn't know and I destroyed whatever happiness he was getting out of that relationship that I didn't see."  
  
"Ah," Raven said, lost for anything to say to that.  
  
"It's… almost a relief none of them got out," Peeta said, looking guiltily between the two women. "I know it's horrible, but I would have never been able to trust my mother with even the knowledge that I was Iron Man now, things with my brothers had been strained ever since I won the Games, and now I can… well, I can tell myself that my dad _didn't_ know everything without worrying that I'll find out I was wrong."  
  
"Nothing wrong with hoping for the best," Raven acknowledged, her tone bitter. "Hell, I'm not sure who my dad even _was_ , and considering my mom's attitude I was probably only conceived as some drunken exchange."  
  
"…This is one of those things Katniss would prefer me not to ask for more detail on, right?" Prim looked at Peeta.  
  
"Right," Peeta nodded, before he looked at Raven with an awkward smile. "Still… can you assume he didn't know?"  
  
"About me?" Raven asked, looking thoughtful for a moment before she shrugged. "Hard to say; single parents weren't exactly common for obvious reasons, but so long as I wasn't screwing up the numbers too much, nobody had the time, resources, or inclination to look into where I came from in depth, particularly once I started proving myself…"

* * *

Staring at the complex array of controls in front of him, Bellamy wasn't too proud to admit that he had no real idea what he was doing right now.  
  
Actually getting into Mount Weather hadn't been as hard as he'd initially worried thanks to Lincoln's help, and he'd been able to steal a guard's uniform with almost disturbing ease, but it was what he was meant to do after that he'd been having trouble with. Listening in on the mountain's plans and encouraging Jasper and the rest to keep fighting had been almost easy, but he'd quickly established that just listening in wasn't going to get him any useful information. He'd managed to talk with the now-ex President Dante Wallace, and at least the other man had been able to provide him with access codes that might be useful, but Bellamy knew enough about computers to recognise that there was a risk that those passcodes might not work after Wallace's arrest.  
  
Still… when he finally found the control room that ex-President Wallace had told him about, Bellamy was ashamed to admit, even to himself, that he'd hoped this part of his haphazard plan would be easier to put into practise. He could just about work out what console controlled the air filtration system based on the attached screens, and he guessed that this place wasn't currently in use because these people had spent decades believing that nobody could get inside or be capable of understanding what to do once they got here, but he just needed time to work out what to shut down without actually shutting down the air supply completely.  
  
 _OK, so we're not in the Ark where there's the air we keep up there and nothing else, but we're so far down there's got to be_ some _issues getting air everywhere, especially if they're this paranoid about contamination…_  
  
As he studied the map/diagram/whatever of the mountain before him, however, Bellamy soon found his gaze shifting to a particular area of the mountain. It seemed unremarkable the first time he looked over the map, as it was just a comparatively small room in one lower part of the building, but his suspicions grew when he noticed that this area could also be accessed by a long tunnel leading up to the surface of the mountain that reminded him of tales of old missile silos.  
  
 _One door, one shaft, and nothing else_? Bellamy wondered to himself, noting the room's identification number on the map and checking the surrounding screens. _Is that_ …?  
  
His gaze fixed on a screen displaying what he presumed was the interior of the anomalous room, and his eyes widened in horror. The camera made it hard to judge how large this thing was, and the screen didn't display colour properly, but he was certain that thing was larger than a human, and it was also obviously more muscular, with a hairless head and what looked like parts of its own skeleton sticking out of its back. Bellamy could just make out a series of large chains wrapped around the creature's body, along with a set of thick manacles strapped to its wrists and ankles, but somehow even those didn't seem like they'd be enough to keep this thing trapped if it moved.  
  
He'd never heard a detailed description of this thing, but there was only one creature that could be this large, this monstrous-looking, and make him feel this scared even when he was watching it on a screen that made it clear the damn thing was trapped.  
  
"The Abomination…" Bellamy breathed, staring in horror at the screen.  
  
"Actually," a voice said behind him, "he prefers to be known as Blonsky."  
  
Cursing as he spun around, Bellamy found himself staring at a dark-skinned woman in a white lab coat, who was looking at him with a disturbing satisfied expression. Realising that he'd just been caught, Bellamy leapt from his seat, but was sent flying backwards when something jammed into his ribs, hitting him with a massive electric shock that sent him falling back to the ground, his body involuntarily twitching from the shocks.  
  
"You should feel honoured, you know," the woman said as she looked at Bellamy, a coolness in her manner that reminded Bellamy of some of his old science teachers back on the Ark discussing the preserved specimens they had to keep using for biology lessons. "I've been meaning to test this old project for a while now, but President Cage insisted that we save all of the new children for bone-marrow tests; you might be one of their original group, but you aren't one of _that_ group…"  
  
 _Oh crap… now what_?


	28. Training on Asgard

A fair portion of this chapter was written by my associate, David Knight; thanks for his insight into Octavia's character at this stage in particular

Falling Hope, Rising Threat  
  
Octavia moved with a grace she hadn't believed herself possible. Ever since holding the casket, everything about her had become heightened and while that in the long term would be great, the short term was that she literally didn't know her own strength.  
  
She had tried to be casual about it at first, but when she crushed her water glass just by trying to grip it as she had done in the past, Octavia had quickly accepted the need for additional training. Over the last few days, her 'uncle' had her running through a battery of tests and exams, trying to get herself acclimated to her new abilities. Most of it was boring to her; she had never been great with doctors. However what she was doing now was definitely not in a lab but in a training arena.  
  
She raised her right hand, blocking the coming sword strike from her sparring partner with the ice sword she had created. She wasn't sure if it was out of desire or practice, but she hadn't held a real weapon for any of her training sessions. Instead she had constantly been creating swords of ice for her to use. Each time she created them, they lasted longer, became stronger and more durable but most of all it was getting easier to create them.  
  
"Not bad, but you lean too much to your right," the Asgardian fencer said a bit too cheekily as he twisted his sword in a way that was intended to disarm Octavia. He appeared to put her into checkmate, only to have the sword in her left hand move to intercept the rapier. With that blow stopped, Octavia took a few steps back, catching her breath as she generated a new ice sword for her right hand. "Forget I had another sword, Fandral?"  
  
"Wanted to see how quickly you'd react this time, young lady," Fandral gave a quick bow to her. Honestly, he never thought the Daughter of Loki would have such a warrior spirit within her, much less that the Trickster would have a daughter in the first place. He remembered how Thor broke the news to him, Hogun and Volstagg once he had been sure of Octavia's heritage. Volstagg had fallen over laughing, while Fandral would concede that he had likely had a very amused look on his face. Hogun was sullen and serious, but had not said a single word. Not even when their King asked for the Warriors Three for help in training Octavia with her abilities.  
  
Fandral had taken the task of helping Octavia when he learned she preferred the blade. He hadn't been expecting her to favor using two swords as opposed to a single sword. Not many Asgardians dual-wielded weapons into combat, but it had been easy to determine that Octavia had a natural talent for fighting in such a manner.  
  
It had been easy for him to determine that, as skilled as he was, he was not the proper teacher for her in her chosen area of combat; if the Lady Sif had still lived in Asgard itself, she would have been far better suited to acting in such a capacity. Fandral would be scared to see what Octavia could be capable of if Sif ever mentored her, but at the very least, he could teach her the fundamentals of swordsmanship, increase her own knowledge and close up the holes in her form, which would allow her to develop into an actual style she could use.  
  
"Are you ready to go again?" he asked, twirling his sword experimentally as he looked at the young woman. Before Octavia could continue, there was a sound of metal clashing against metal, coming from the other side of the training area.  
  
"I guess we aren't the only ones enjoying themselves today," Octavia glanced over at the sound, a slight smile on her face as she contemplated what could be causing such a battle.

* * *

"You sure about this?" Johanna asked, flexing her fingers around Jarnbjorn as she looked at Volstagg, the larger Asgardian standing opposite her as he twirled his own axes in his hands.  
  
"I believe that the question should be if you are sure about this," Volstagg replied, as he raised his axes into a combat stance. "I am the more experienced of the two of us."  
  
"You never fought me before," Johanna replied, grinning as she spun Jarnbjorn in her artificial wrist before lunging towards Volstagg. The two had privately agreed before this training session began that they would fight as realistically as possible, trusting the other not to actually make contact with the sharp end of their axes, but it was still a surprise for Johanna to find herself struck in the chest with the wide upper edge of an axe rather than one of the distinctive blades. Staggering back at the moment of impact, Johanna quickly adjusted her stance as Volstagg swung the staff of his axe towards her, using Jarnbjorn's handle to parry the blow and deflect it. Volstagg had assured her that he would only use part of his strength, the two acknowledging that the contrast between human and Asgardian was so great that Volstagg would have easily overpowered Johanna in direct combat if they fought like that, but Johanna's metal arm was strong enough to tip the balance when Volstagg wasn't putting that much effort into the fight. For a moment, the two shifted to 'dueling' with the handles of their axes, until they each made the same decision to start using their blades again at the same time, slamming the heads of the axes into each other.  
  
"So," Johanna asked, after the two combatants had locked axes and were pacing in a circle, "Gotta ask; what was hammer-boy like while he was up here without the hammer after things went to shit back home?"  
  
"Driven," Volstagg replied, adjusting his grip on his axe so that he was putting more pressure on the left side of Johanna's current grip, where her flesh arm couldn't exert as much force as her cybernetic one. "He was committed to the goal of peace throughout the realms, but those of us who knew him best knew that he was doing it to get away from the memory of how he failed you all on Midgard."  
  
"Way of making up for the way things fell apart, huh?"  
  
"As I said, we did not dare to ask him directly, but it was widely believed to be the case," Volstagg said, as he finally stepped back, sending Johanna staggering from the loss of resistance as he swung the end of the handle into the side of her head.  
  
"Hey!" Johanna yelled, clutching her head as she glared at him once the initial ringing had faltered.  
  
"You are good for a Midgardian, but you rely on raw force over skill," Volstagg said firmly. "You cannot depend on the power of your axe to win every battle-"  
  
"For the record, I don't," Johanna said, shaking off the headache as she tossed Jarnbjorn aside, reaching behind her back to pull out her two smaller axes. "And if you want proof, care to see me with these?"  
  
Smiling at that development, Volstagg nodded and adjusted his grip on his own axe, now holding it in both hands out in front of himself as though it were a staff. Instantly, Johanna leapt into action, ducking and weaving around Volstagg's attempts to attack her with either the blade or the 'staff' of the axe while making the occasional slash at an exposed body-part with her own axes. When a particularly fast blow from Volstagg nearly hit her in the side, Johanna used the opportunity to roll backwards before hurling the axes towards Volstagg as she got up, smiling slightly as Volstagg ducked underneath the flying axes.  
  
"You are mistaken if you-" he began, before he yelled in pain as one of the axes struck him just below the shoulder as its fellow flew back into Johanna's hand.  
  
"Shit!" Johanna yelled, hurrying over to examine Volstagg's back. "God, sorry 'bout that, I just didn't think-!"  
  
"It is… fine," Volstagg said, wincing as he stood back up even as he smiled reassuringly at her, going so far as to reach behind himself and pull the axe out of his own back to return to her. "That is an… impressive feat; enchantment?"  
  
"Just a neat bit of tech," Johanna replied, turning her palms to show the Asgardian her gloves. "Basic electromagnets; they're specifically keyed to something in the axe-handles, so they immediately come back to me when I throw them, and they always reach me handle-first."  
  
"Impressive nevertheless," Volstagg noted.  
  
"With everything you can do here, this little trick's impressive?"  
  
"Considering what your society has been through and everything you have lost since Thor was an Avenger, you have accomplished a great deal to create something so subtle yet so significantly useful," Volstagg clarified. "One thing Odin always insisted we remember after the role the Lady Jane played in the final defeat of the Dark Elves was that we should not judge you by the standards of what we are capable of; considering all that you have lost since the Maestro destroyed your civilization, that you were able to create such weapons is to be commended."  
  
"Thanks, I guess," Johanna said, before she gave her axes an experimental twirl and indicated Volstagg's axe. "So, how's this; you show me a few tricks with that axe, I show you some of the things I do with these ones, and we work out what needs worked on from there?"  
  
"That sounds like a fine plan," Volstagg confirmed, raising his own axe with a firm grin. "Shall we begin?"

* * *

Watching as the niece he had never known existed and the teammate he had entrusted with his second-mightiest weapon fought two of his oldest friends, Thor allowed himself a wistful smile. He fully accepted that what he was doing for them now in no way made up for everything he had permitted to unfold on Earth by abandoning the planet to the Maestro's non-existent mercy for so long, but it was good to see the two young women holding their own in such a challenge.  
  
At this point, Thor was cautiously optimistic that Octavia Blake would become the newest member of the team back on Earth, so long as she would accept orders from Katniss and Clarke (given what he had heard of the young woman's history, Thor had the impression of a woman with an interesting capacity for leadership that only required experience), but he was waiting to get a clearer picture of what she could do before he made that suggestion…  
  
"Training goes well, I see," Hogun's voice broke his train of thought, Thor looking up with a smile as the third member of the Warriors Three walked over to join the Asgardian king.  
  
"Indeed," Thor nodded. "She combines her prior training with her new skills very well; she has already found a few weaknesses in Fandral's combat style that I could never have anticipated she would spot this early."  
  
"But he is not the proper candidate for the responsibility of training her."  
  
"…No," Thor conceded, shooting a half-serious, half-joking glare at Hogun; the most silent of the Warriors Three was always the one most likely to offer this kind of insight whenever they had the time to talk rather than putting so much effort into just staying alive. "But… I cannot approach her under these circumstances."  
  
"You are becoming the man she once respected-"  
  
"And if I approach her because of my own needs, I am proving that I have not changed," Thor cut his friend off. "Sif made her choice, and I have respected that; I must believe that she has maintained enough awareness of the Nine Realms to know that I have also changed, but I will not force her to see me."  
  
"I understand your decision, even if I do not agree with it," Hogun observed.  
  
"Which is a step up from your opinion of many of my actions since the Maestro slew Barton," Thor observed with a lighter smile. "Do not dissemble, my friend; I was unworthy, not blind."  
  
"Indeed," Hogun said, his lips twitching in the manner Thor recognized as his friend hiding the urge to smile, before it became even grimmer than usual. "But on the topic of secrets that have been kept, there are… questions… being asked about the arrival of two women from Earth."  
  
"If they fear a repeat of Jane Foster's time among us, be assured they are in error," Thor said firmly. "Johanna Mason is no more than a valued comrade among the latest of Earth's defenders, and Octavia Blake has been brought here because we are qualified to deal with her condition, and that is all."  
  
"That is not what you should be worried about," Hogun responded. "You should have prioritized secrecy over expedience in finding out the truth about Octavia's origins."  
  
Thor stared at the deadly serious expression on his face, understanding his friend's meaning without the need for elaboration. "How?"  
  
"How did the information leak out? Those women are the first two humans you've brought from Earth since the humans had their war to end all wars, and then one of them was confirmed to be part Frost Giant?" Hogun stated rhetorically. "From there it could have been anyone working in the examination facility or anyone who had access to the data that was collected on Octavia Blake. Granted, it does not explicitly connect Loki as her father, but now that his status as a Frost Giant is known to all, it would not take long to draw such a correlation. All those that still have grudges against him will start to draw their own conclusions when they hear of this, and it won't be long until they decide to take them out against his offspring."  
  
"And you think that will deter me in any way?" Thor responded. "I will protect my niece, Hogun; I have utterly failed her so many times already-"  
  
"You did not even know she existed-"  
  
"That does not change the fact that I failed her, nor does it change the fact I ignored the thousands on the Ark," Thor stated grimly. "Nearly twenty years ago, Loki and Sif asked me to save them and I refused both out of stupidity and prejudice. Now not even half that number still lives." He looked solemnly at Hogun. "But you are right about one thing: those that despise my brother will likely learn of Octavia. Until I can ascertain those threats, she will be safer back on Earth than on Asgard. Now that she has fair control over her abilities so that she isn't a danger to others, it's time that we return and rejoin the Avengers. I only hope things have not reached a tipping point in our absence."

* * *

Hours later, Octavia had freshened up from her training session. She had learned more than she could have ever believed possible. Her origins, her abilities, things that she could never in her wildest of dreams believed to be true. She could only imagine how Bellamy would take to this. The moment he looked into her now red eyes, he would know something major had happened to her. Considering what Frost Giants look like, having her eyes permanently change colors was a small price to pay compared to some of the more drastic changes she could have gone through. Even this small change was going to make things complicated enough when she got around to telling her brother everything that she had learned about herself in Asgard.  
  
 _Including the fact that Loki is my father,_ she sighed. That was something she was still trying to come to terms with. Her father was one of the worst villains in the history of the old world. It was definitely something she wasn't thinking about sharing with anyone unless absolutely necessary. She didn't need her father's baggage to come down upon her.  
  
She had barely pushed those thoughts aside and finished getting dressed when a guard knocked at her door, asking her to follow him to meet with the King when she was ready. Trying not to feel too uncomfortable at the news that her 'Uncle' wanted to have a meeting with her, Octavia had promptly gone to the throne room, only to find only Johanna Mason in the room when she arrived.  
  
"Any idea why he would want the both of us?" she asked the other woman.  
  
"Honestly though, when he does come, I think I should push for us to go back to Earth," Johanna replied with a shake of her head and a nonchalant shrug. "The two birds have to be getting ready for their push towards Mount Weather by now."  
  
Octavia simply nodded; she'd pushed the Mountain to the back of her mind while dealing with her changes, but her new control of her abilities gave her time to turn her attention towards it again. What they did to Lincoln angered her and she was looking forward to doing her part in making sure they answered for what they had done to the Coalition over the decades.  
  
"Good day," Thor said, walking into the room wearing his usual cloak and armor, the hammer hanging by his side and a large wooden chest in his arms. "As I'm sure you have already speculated, the time has come for us to return to Earth."  
  
"Good; I'd like to let this axe earn my title," Johanna said, her artificial hand twirling Jarnbjorn on its rotating wrist before she indicated the chest. "What's with the box?"  
  
"A gift for our new comrade," Thor replied, as he turned to the other girl.  
  
"I'm not the kind of girl who's that interested in jewelry or gold coins," Octavia noted with a frown.  
  
"I have no doubt," Thor responded with a brief chuckle, "which is why this is not that." He opened the chest for Octavia to look inside. What she found was silver armor, meant to be worn by a woman. There was also a small shield in the chest, but her attention was drawn to something else; a sword.  
  
Octavia picked up the sword. It felt light to her but also strong. It was a different feeling from her ice swords, which felt as a part of herself yet also easily replaceable due to her ability to generate new ones. This sword however, she knew it felt special.  
  
"This sword, as well as the armor and shield, was forged by Eitri, King of the Dwarves of Nidavellir. They are made of Uru metal, same as my hammer, minus the enchantments that were placed on Mjolnir," Thor explained. "I would be honored, and I think Sif would approve, if you would wield these in the defense of those that you care for."  
  
"Uh… thanks?" Octavia said, giving the blade an experimental couple of swings before she adjusted the shield on her other arm. "It's… I mean, the sword's great, but the shield-"  
  
"Has survived a blast from the most powerful weapon in the private arsenal of the King," Thor said, smiling briefly at her. "It is a small shield, but use it well and it will be of great benefit."  
  
"Right," Octavia said, looking at the shield with a new sense of respect. "That's…"  
  
"My Lord," a deep voice suddenly said, the golden-armoured form of Heimdell walking into the room.  
  
"Heimdell?" Thor looked at the gatekeeper in surprise. "Is something wrong?"  
  
"Not through the gate, my lord," Heimdell replied. "It is Loki."

* * *

"You… requested our presence?" Thor said, looking uncertainly at the man he had once been glad to call 'brother' as Loki sat in his cell, the deposed Asgardian/Frost Giant prince actually looking somewhat better-kept than he had for over a decade as far as Thor could recall.  
  
"I did," Loki said, looking out of his cell with a comparatively warm expression on his face as he studied his daughter for a moment, noting the chest that on the ground next to her before looking back to Thor. "I would like to have a moment with my daughter. Allow her to enter my cell."  
  
"Loki…" Thor began but Loki simply stared back at him.  
  
"What do you think I'm going to do brother?" Loki asked. "Try to use this as an opening to escape? Use my own daughter as a hostage to secure my freedom? Do you really think that low of me now?"  
  
"I know not what expect from you, brother," Thor responded, thinking deeply about the matter before looking to Octavia. "Do you want to do this?"  
  
Octavia stayed silent for a while, as if trying to come to terms with her own conflicted emotions with the situation before nodding. Thor went to the outer controls of the cell and allowed for a doorway to appear in the field.  
  
"Please bring that chest in with you my dear, I'd actually like to see what my brother has gifted you with for your return to earth," Loki requested.  
  
Not questioning, Octavia lifted the chest over her shoulder with ease and walked into the cell. Once the barrier had been sealed behind her, she put the chest down, leaving Loki to size up his daughter once more, both acknowledging the similarities to her mother and a strange tension that he swore reminded him of Sif. "Your eyes have changed."  
  
"You told my uncle to take me to the Casket," Octavia said. "Are you saying you didn't expect me to change at all?"  
  
"I honestly didn't know what to expect, my dear. You are unique. One of a kind," Loki replied, with a form of kindness in his tone. "Is there anything you wish to say or ask of me?"  
  
Octavia shook her head. "You're the one that asked me to come in here. You may be my biological father, but I've spent my entire life without knowing who that was. My mother raised me and Bellamy was the closest thing I ever had to a male parental figure. All I know of you, personally, is what was in the history books and it wasn't exactly good."  
  
"I understand. I am also aware that you are going to return to Earth and judging by the look you have in your eyes, you are almost assuredly going to get into trouble. A trouble that only I could get myself into," Loki stated, opening up her chest and taking in Sif's armor. He couldn't help but allow a small smirk to spread across his face before he looked back to Octavia. "I wish to give you a gift, but only if you are willing to accept it. Will you?"  
  
 _What kind of a gift could you give me when you've been stuck behind here for years?_ She asked herself, even as she couldn't shake her curiosity.  
  
"OK," she said at last. "You're way overdue on birthday presents. What do you have for me?"  
  
Loki didn't answer directly. Instead he started to speak words in a low tone that could not be understood. As he did, his hands started to glow, a clear sign of magic. That same glow came upon the armor in the chest, which made it rise from its position, floating over Octavia, whose own clothing was glowing in the same aura as his magic. There was a sudden flash of light that caused Thor and others to close their eyes.  
  
Once Thor was able to open his eyes, he saw what Loki had done. The transformative magic had been used to change Octavia's outfit to something similar to what he had worn during his assault on Earth against the original Avengers, but incorporating Sif's armor into the design. Octavia even wore an overcoat over the silver armor, which again resembled Loki's attire from his original war with the Avengers, save for the fact that where Loki's coat had been dark green with gold armor pieces, Octavia's was a deep blue with silver armor pieces. Black leggings followed by silver boots finished the outfit, or so Thor thought until Loki waved his hands to make a silver circlet appear out of thin air, placing it on top of his daughter's head.  
  
Octavia looked over herself, finding the outfit just seemed to fit. At her core, she just knew that this attire reflected who she was and who she was about to become, even if she hadn't known anything about this part of her identity before a few days ago.  
  
"I am sure many have told you exactly who you are and there will be those that tell you what you are once the truth of your origins comes to light," Loki said to her. "My advice; bury it. Those people who pass their own view upon you, they matter not. You are a treasure unlike any other in the Nine Realms and if they can't see it for themselves, then they are fools. They simply do not deserve you. You are my daughter, a child I may have never known until recently…"  
  
He paused for a moment, looking solemnly at the young woman, before he finished his sentence, placing his hands on her shoulders. "For all that, you are my child, and I do love you, whether you can believe it or not."  
  
Octavia just stood there, feeling Loki's touch, her father's touch upon her. She understood what he was. This was a man that once sought to conquer Earth, who manipulated and took control of people like pawns on a chess board. A man responsible of the deaths of thousands of people, probably even more than that.  
  
And despite all of that, in this moment, she felt a connection with this man she had only felt once in her entire life, when she was face to face with her mother, and the understanding that this woman was someone who would always be there for her.  
  
"I…" Octavia said, swallowing slightly as she looked at Loki. "I… I _want_ to love you…but…"  
  
"That is enough for now, Octavia. It's more than I've had for a long time," Loki smiled solemnly at her. "For now be what you were born to be."  
  
"What exactly is that?" Octavia replied. "A human? A Frost Giant?"  
  
"An Avenger," Johanna and Thor corrected simultaneously.  
  
"Quite," Loki said, the expression on his face mixing discomfort with a strange sense of pride as he looked at his daughter. "If you make half as interesting an impression on their world as I did… you will do well."  
  
"Thank you... father," Octavia nodded, seeing the look on the man's face when she called him father and truly meant it. As she stepped out of her father's cell, she waited briefly for the barrier to seal between her and Loki before she turned to look at Thor and Johanna. "So, back to Earth?"  
  
"Good plan," Johanna grinned as she gave Jarnbjorn an anticipatory twirl once again. "Time to kick that mountain back to the rubble it should have become when the bombs fell."


	29. Avengers Reassembled

If it had happened in any other situation, I would have almost considered it amusing how ill-prepared I felt for this situation. We had spent the last few days training in as much secrecy as was possible when we didn't know exactly what we were going to go up against, and now we were preparing for an assault on the most heavily defended place on this planet (that wasn't in the hands of our allies) while I had to constantly adjust our plans to accommodate the possibility that we'd get back up to full strength any minute now.

Right now, while Lexa worked with the forces of the Coalition and the Ark to prepare for our upcoming final attack on the Mountain, I had to focus on working with the different strengths and capabilities of this team to determine our best plan of attack. Not only did I have to keep track of plans that both would and wouldn't use Thor and Johanna depending on when they got back to us, but I also had to try and work out how the plans including Thor and Johanna might incorporate Octavia if she was able to repeat her earlier 'trick', and that was on top of the question of whether the 'Mountain Men' would want to risk unleashing the Abomination onto us on top of the more conventional defences we'd already had to deal with. I was quietly confident that we could handle what the mountain had demonstrated so far, even if I didn't want to do too much damage to people who were basically just trying to survive even if I didn't approve of how they were doing it, but the man once known as Emil Blonsky was an X-factor I wasn't entirely comfortable with.

Finnick and Anya had spent some time trying to interrogate our new prisoner, on the grounds that Anya had better practise at inflicting pain while Finnick was the most experienced of the current Avengers when it came to reading people's reactions to personal questions, but we all knew that there was only so much our prisoner could offer even if he knew about Blonsky's existence. Peeta and Beetee had expressed approval of Raven's technical skill so far, and she'd apparently offered a couple of interesting suggestions for 'tweaks' she could make to the Iron Man armour right now and some interesting plans had been discussed for when we had the time to put them together, but while I approved of the idea of adding her to our support staff right now there wasn't time to deal with the paperwork needed to make it official.

"You OK?" Clarke's voice broke through my musing, prompting me to turn around and smile as she walked up to join me in what some of the team referred to as my 'office' in the compound. I didn't exactly have paperwork, and my position in our new legal structure was unconventional at best, but I still had to provide _some_ kind of official documentation for what we were up to.

"Trying to work out what we've got for when we mount that final attack," I replied grimly. "Adding you and Anya to the line-up is straightforward enough, so long as I can decide if I want you both inside or outside the mountain when things kick off, but I'm not sure if I should be planning for Thor and Johanna to get here in time to help out or not, and then there's the question of Blonsky to take into account…"

"I get it," Clarke said, shaking her head with a smile as she sat down on the other side of my desk, smiling as she looked around the small room. "You really work here?"

"Only in the sense that it's where I fill out the occasional report when I need to explain what we're doing to the rest of the country," I replied. "We're granted a degree of freedom considering what we've done for Panem so far, but we still need to justify what we're doing when we're dealing with something this large-scale so people don't worry we're becoming as bad as Snow."

"The dictator you killed?"

"He was… a bit more than just another dictator, but yeah," I nodded, still uncomfortable dwelling on Snow after seeing what he'd been before he went crazy. "I mean, I know that it had to be done, and he was basically a psychopath who was never going to stop being anything more than that, but even if I don't think we'd ever go that far…"

"You need some kind of check to keep everything under control so everyone else is assured of it?"

"Exactly," I nodded. "Steve and the original Avengers had SHIELD when they started, but when they had to rely on themselves… well, cues were missed; it's complicated."

"Complicated?"

I was saved from answering that particular question when Prim suddenly hurried into my office, holding the radio in her hand with a terrified expression on her face.

" _Hello_?" an unfamiliar voice said at the other end of the radio, even if Clarke's sudden shock made it clear that she knew the speaker. " _Who's there_?"

"Hello, Doctor Tsing," Clarke said, answering my question as she took the radio.

" _Clarke Griffin_ ," the voice said, the voice expressing that same semi-detached satisfaction that put me in mind of my prep team from my first days as a Tribute, when they saw no point in becoming attached when they were certain I would be dead in a couple of weeks. " _I wasn't expecting to hear from you again_."

"I tend to defy peoples' expectations," Clarke replied, shooting a brief apologetic glance at me for taking over this conversation, even as I nodded in understanding. "Where's Bellamy?"

" _Your inside agent_?" the doctor replied. " _Oh, President Wallace is dealing with him- and before you get excited, that's Cage, not Dante_."

"The son staged a coup?" Clarke replied, even as she shot an anxious glance in my direction that made it clear that chain of events didn't bode well for us.

" _We needed a leader who would get things done_."

"And 'getting things done' involves using us as livestock?" Clarke countered.

" _If you'd just cooperate_ -"

"I have trouble when the people who want us to 'cooperate' decide to start out by basically forcing us to serve as a resource," Clarke cut the doctor off. "You can't seriously expect us to accept that."

" _We have to be able to move on from our current confinement if this world is going to move on_ ," the doctor replied. " _It's regrettable that your people have to suffer for that, but_ -"

"And _that_ is why we won't help you now," Clarke countered, her tone grim as she addressed the radio. "But before we start our advance on Mount Weather, you need to understand something very important; if you'd asked for our help, we might have been willing to find a way to do this that wouldn't have meant some people had to die and give you a chance to become part of the wider world outside your mountain… but after what you've done, before this week's out, Mount Weather's crimes against the people of the Coalition _will_ be avenged."

With that, she terminated the connection and looked at me with a new sense of apprehension. "If they have Bellamy-"

"We're as ready as we'll ever be," I nodded in understanding; whether it was for personal or tactical reasons, we had to get Bellamy Blake out of that mountain before Mount Weather did anything permanent to him. "I've got a few attack plans already, and Bellamy was able to give us a couple of details in his last messages; I'll need to make a few adjustments if Thor and Johanna come back, but if we're quick, we can do this."

* * *

The Avengers might be completely unconventional as any kind of military unit, but as much as I prided ourselves on that, I was also satisfied at how quickly we'd fallen into a routine when we got the call to action. As soon as I had announced to the other core members that we were prepping for the assault on Mount Weather, aside from needing to contact Lexa and Abby at the crashed Ark, the only challenge I had was making sure Anya didn't give into her new urges and try and attack the Mountain by herself.  
  
"Look," I said, staring solemnly at the currently-human She-Hulk, "I understand that you have the raw strength to tear that place open, but you need to realise that doing that will kill _everyone_ inside-"  
  
"And do they not deserve such a fate?" Anya asked, the skin over her fists and around her eyes occasionally shifting to green.  
  
"Maybe some of them _do_ deserve it, but what about the children who've just grown up in that society?" I countered, refusing to be intimidated by Anya's moments of 'Hulk-ness'. "And besides, there could be people in there who object to what their leaders are doing but just don't have the courage to actually stand up to them."  
  
"Then they are weak-"  
  
"They're _afraid_ ," I cut Anya off. "And before you say anything about how that makes them weak, ask yourself if you'd have the courage to tell Lexa she's wrong about something."  
  
"The Commander would not do such a thing-"  
  
"I'm not saying that she would, but the point is that your people would be afraid to defy her in a situation like that even if you _knew_ it was wrong, right?" I said, staring firmly at our new She-Hulk. "I'm not denying that there are some people who go along with it because they believe that you're nothing but primitives, and maybe some people should have done more to protest about what they were doing, but there are people in that mountain who could be persuaded to find another way if they were given that chance, and until we're certain things have reached a point where it's them or us, I'm going to give them that chance."  
  
"…Very well," Anya said at last, nodding solemnly at me. "If you believe there is another way to resolve this… I will take it."  
  
"Thanks," I smiled at her.  
  
"You have proven yourself to be a strong warrior, Katniss kom Panemkru," Anya nodded at me. "If you seek another solution to conflict beyond the death of our enemies, I will agree that it is worth seeking another way."  
  
"Thanks," I said, before turning back to the rest of the team as they stood gathered around the compound's hovercraft hanger. Clarke and Finnick were both making sure their suits and equipment were prepared, Clarke's wings extended for Finnick's examination while she gave his trident a once-over, while Raven sat by a computer screen running checks on the latest modifications to the Iron Man armour.  
  
"Everything good?" I smiled at the team.  
  
"As ready as we'll ever be," Raven nodded at me as she turned from the computer. "New features seem to be working out for this thing, and Clarke and Finnick report that everything's in peak shape for their gear."  
  
"And what of plans for the one you call 'Blonsky'?" Anya asked.  
  
"Well, obviously you're our best candidate for tackling him if he's released," Finnick noted.  
  
"But if you want another edge," Raven added, reaching behind her desk to pull out a long sword, "I recommend _this_."  
  
Anya took the sword from Raven and gave it a couple of experimental swings, swiftly noting the larger-than-normal size of the sword's hilt.  
  
"A weapon for my transformed state?" she asked, nodding in approval at the other woman.  
  
"And not just that," Raven smiled. "We put it together using some notes left by the original Avengers about forging particularly unique metals based on Kat-Jay's shield; obviously we can't copy that sucker exactly, but I've found a few-"  
  
Her explanation was cut short when sound of thunder could be heard, only this was one that I was familiar with. Looking around, I was relieved that I only had to worry about the immediate members of the Avengers at this point, making it easy for me to indicate that the rest of the team should step back as the light that had once introduced me to Thor as he struck the Maestro once again filled the ground before me, followed by Thor and Johanna walking nonchalantly out of it, Mjolnir and Jarnbjorn in their right and left hands respectively.  
  
"My friends," Thor said, nodding at the six of us. "It is good to see you all again."  
  
"Same to you," I nodded at the king of Asgard, before looking at Johanna. "How was it?"  
  
"Kinda cool, really," Johanna shrugged, even if the excited gleam in her eyes made it clear she'd enjoyed the experience. "Plus, I got a chance to test myself with this thing and pick up a few new tricks."  
  
"Still as action-ready as ever, eh?" Finnick grinned at Johanna.  
  
"Talking of new tricks, where's O.?" Raven asked, looking urgently between the two returned Avengers.  
  
"Oh, you mean this girl?" Johanna asked, as she and Thor stepped aside to reveal the figure standing behind them.  
  
"Octavia?" Clarke just let her jaw drop seeing Bellamy's sister, no longer wearing the clothes they had seen her in when Thor took her and Johanna to Asgard, but instead wearing a blue-and-silver outfit that seemed vaguely familiar.  
  
"Wait, your eyes…" Raven stared, looking at Octavia's eyes which were now a dark shade of red. "What in the world happened to you?"  
  
As if responding, Octavia held her right hand out towards a nearby tree and a stream of ice shot out from it, never stopping until the tree itself was completely encased in ice. She turned back to everyone, a smirk on her lips. "A lot."  
  
"Oh my God…" Clarke whispered, staring at the suddenly-frozen tree in awe. Glancing around at the rest of the team, I noticed that Peeta had raised the face-mask of the Iron Man suit as though he wanted to make sure he was looking at something real, while Anya, Raven and Finnick were looking at it with subtler forms of awe. Privately I was trying to control my immediate urge to gawk while also considering how I might incorporate that into my battle strategy, considering that I'd only believed Octavia had superhuman strength before now.  
  
"Well," I said at last, looking over Octavia with a smile. "Good to know you can control that, but I don't suppose you can clear up _how_ you can do it?"  
  
"We worked that out," Octavia confirmed, before indicating Thor with an expression that combined a teasing smile with a firm glare. "Although we might have been able to tell you more if the big guy here wasn't so impulsive."  
  
"I wished to make up for my past mistakes as swiftly as possible-"  
  
"Which meant that you _had_ to grab me and summon up the bifrost before telling us anything about why you were doing that?"  
  
"Even if I knew for sure then, would you have believed me?" Thor returned, giving her a look.  
  
"…Yeah, probably not," Octavia conceded, shaking her head with a smile.  
  
"Believed what?" Clarke asked, looking uncertainly at the young woman's clothing. "Where did you _get_ that?"  
  
Octavia stood there silent, as if trying to decide what she would say. "I want to keep this to just us, considering we'll be working together if you'll have me on the team."  
  
"We're already keeping a couple of secrets from everyone else," I said, making a note to talk with our new teammates about Snow's true past as soon as the Mountain had fallen and I was satisfied they were all worthy of becoming full Avengers. "Tell us this one and we'll keep it."  
  
"Right," Octavia said, nodding in resolution. "Turns out that… well, my dad's Loki."  
  
"Huh," Finnick raised his eyebrows in surprise. "That was unexpected."  
  
"Loki?" Clarke looked at Octavia in surprise. "As in-?"  
  
"As in my brother," Thor nodded.  
  
"Wait a- you saying O.'s your _niece_?" Raven grinned at the God of Thunder. " _Cool_!"  
  
"Hold on," Peeta said, nervousness showing in his voice. "I get that I'm still working on the full history of the Avengers, but… when you say your father is _Loki_ …"  
  
"I mean the guy who was such a serious threat to the planet he's the reason this team came together in the first damn place," Octavia nodded.  
  
"Just a moment…" Clarke said, holding up a thoughtful hand to stop anyone else talking as she searched her memory. "If _Loki_ is your father, then that makes you… what, half Asgardian?"  
  
"Half Frost Giant," Octavia clarified. "Loki was glamoured by Odin as a baby to look Asgardian. Part of that magic passed on to me apparently when he and my mom conceived me. It basically made the human part of me be dominant and suppressed my frost giant self." She looked over to Thor. "At least until my uncle here brushed past me with Mjolnir."  
  
"When I first saw her, I felt like in a way I was seeing my brother, but I brushed it aside as I couldn't believe it possible," Thor explained. "Yet when I saw her strike that woman as hard as she did, almost all doubt vanished, even as I still needed to be absolutely certain. I apologize for the suddenness of my actions, Mockingjay, but this was a very personal matter that I wished to be sure of before I spoke to you."  
  
"Family can make us do crazy things," I nodded at the last active original Avenger in understanding. "You're talking to the woman who volunteered for almost certain death to save her sister, remember?"  
  
"True," Thor smiled.  
  
"OK, I'm sorry, but cool factor aside there's still a few things I need to process here," Raven interjected as she looked resolutely at Octavia. "I mean, awesome that you've got an uncle, O., but how the hell is it possible that you're the daughter of one of the worst aliens in human history? I mean, the only way that works is if-"  
  
"My father was on the Ark? Yeah, he was; escaped from his prison and ended up on the Ark, and lived there in secret for the next three years," Octavia explained, looking back at Thor, who then with resignation nodded. "Until Thor came and took him out."  
  
"Took him," Clarke repeated, looking right at the King of Asgard with a new coolness about her attitude. "As in, you _knew_ we were there in space?"  
  
Thor met her gaze and looked at her with what I could see was shame. "Yes."  
  
Clarke looked back to Octavia. "How long?"  
  
"I'm seventeen years old, plus the nine months for mom's pregnancy. Thor took dad back Asgard before he even knew she was pregnant," Octavia answered. "I'm pretty sure when he asked uncle to save the Ark, he was thinking more mom and Bellamy than others."  
  
"Your father asked Thor to save the ark?" Clarke asked incredulously, as she stared back at one of the men who had been part of the team she'd grown up hearing stories about.  
  
"I- I don't _**believe**_ this!" Raven exploded, advancing on Thor. "Eighteen years! You knew we existed for eighteen years and you did nothing for us! What was this just to get back at your brother for making a fool of you?"  
  
"Making a fool of Loki was never my intent; I was in a bad place for many years after-"  
  
"I don't care if you had an off century or whatever; do you even know how many people could have been saved?" Clarke cut him off, her voice trembling with anger. "There are _thousands_ of people who could have been spared from death. Not just from the Fall, not just from the Cullings, but from everything that happened from the moment you took Loki until the day the Ark fell to pieces and burned in the sky! All of our lives could have been so different! _My father would be alive_!"  
  
"And I regret that-"  
  
"You _regret_ -!"  
  
"Hey!" Peeta cut in, moving forward to stand between Thor and Clarke. "You know, I get that it doesn't excuse what he didn't do, but Thor was _not_ in a good place after the bombs went off, you know!"  
  
"What; he felt sad because-"  
  
"Because he saw one of his closest friends go completely psycho and kill another member of the team while crippling the other two to the point that they needed to create new _limbs_ for themselves after he'd already seen his last teammate _and_ the woman he loved die because he couldn't do anything to save them!" Peeta cut Clarke off. "It's not like he just woke up one day and decided we weren't saving; he'd seen humanity and life drive a man he considered one of his greatest allies to the point where he'd turn on the rest of their team just because he felt like it!"  
  
"Wait a… are you saying an _Avenger_ killed the Avengers?" Clarke looked at Peeta in shock. "Who?"  
  
"That's not important right now; what you _need_ to understand is that seeing that happen left Thor in a state where he couldn't even lift Mjolnir until we proved we were worth defending again," Peeta insisted. "He didn't abandon you just because he couldn't be bothered; he left you alone because he couldn't make himself believe we were worth defending-!"  
  
" _And that makes it OK_?" Raven yelled.  
  
" _ **NO**_!" Peeta countered, displaying a raw anger I'd never seen from the young man who I still thought of as 'the boy with the bread' as he glared back at Raven, the two staring at each other for a moment before he calmed down with a grim sigh. "It doesn't _excuse_ it… but I hope you can understand why he did it."  
  
"Peeta's right," I said, stepping forward after a quick glance confirmed that Finnick and Anya were just watching this particular confrontation without any sign they'd join in; Finnick understood how some people made bad choices and I privately wondered if Anya even had the cultural context to understand the scale of what Thor had done to the Ark by doing nothing. "What Thor did was wrong, but he isn't denying that it was a mistake; he's just asking you to accept that he's trying to make for his past _now_ , rather than judge him by what he didn't do before.  
  
"…We aren't going to keep quiet about this," Clarke said, looking at me with a cool stare. "I'm still… _beyond_ honoured that you chose me to be an Avenger… but you cannot tell us not to tell our people this."  
  
"We can't," Octavia said suddenly. "Not now at least."  
  
"O, are you for real?" Raven asked, leaving me privately relieved that I didn't have to ask that question myself and potentially undermine my own position.  
  
"I get that both of you are angry, and believe me, nobody has more of a reason to be pissed off with my uncle than me," Octavia argued. "There is a part of me that will always be angry and never forget it, even if I've come to terms with it, but you drop something like this in our people's laps while we have the Mountain Men to deal with, we are never going stop them. We'll be too focused on the wrong problem."  
  
"Right," I nodded at Octavia before turning to Clarke and Raven, praying that Steve's lessons on diplomacy would be enough for this mess. "I'd never order you to keep something from your people, but I'm asking you to wait until we've had the chance to handle Mount Weather and the crisis before us. After that, we'll… deal with this issue." Clarke and Raven looked back to each other and to Octavia before nodding, and I had never felt better to have had a potential situation defused.  
  
"So, enough about that issue for now," Octavia said, a new sense of eagerness in her voice. "Where's Bellamy? I get that he's probably been letting you all have it and what not, but..."  
  
She trailed off, seeing the silence and the looks she was attracting from several people, prompting her to focus on Clarke and Raven. "Where is my brother?"  
  
"He went into the Mountain as a spy for us," Clarke replied, her tone tentative as she considered Octavia's likely reaction. "And… they found him."  
  
Almost as soon as the words had left Clarke's mouth, I suddenly felt a chill fill the air around us, the temperature rapidly dropping as Octavia clenched her fists.  
  
"They found him," Octavia repeated, looking coldly at my new team medic. "As in, the people who are planning to cut us up for our bone marrow have _captured_ my _brother_."  
  
"Yes, but-" Clarke began, only for Octavia to turn around and start grimly walking out of the compound.  
  
"Octavia no!" Thor grabbed her by the arm. "Going at them head on is suicide!"  
  
"They have my brother!" Octavia snapped, spinning around to glare at him. "I've already seen what they did to Lincoln! There is not a chance in hell I'm going to allow them to do anything similar to Bellamy!"  
  
"I won't allow that to happen; I give you my word niece," Thor promised her. "But if we attack them as you are thinking, what is to stop them from simply executing every prisoner they have, including your brother? It would take a good amount of time to simply break through that mountain, more than enough time to slit his throat."  
  
" _And_ ," I cut in, looking pointedly at the newly-identified hybrid, "keep in mind that I've been working on plans to get into that mountain since shortly _before_ you went off to Asgard; I've got a couple of plans ready for dealing with this particular problem, but they would all be easier if you three can help me prepare for the next stage of my plan."  
  
"Plan?" Octavia repeated, the temperature becoming suddenly warmer as she turned to look at me. "You… you really have a plan?"  
  
"Still working out the kinks, but it should be easier now that you're all here," I confirmed, my hopes bolstered at the eager expression on her face. "If you want to charge down there at put our own plans at risk, I can't offer any guarantees, but if you stick with us and here me out… we _might_ be able to make this work."  
  
I waited tensely for a few moments, until our newest apparent member finally nodded in acceptance.  
  
"OK," she said, looking at me with the kind of uncertainty I'd encountered when starting my new 'career', when nobody was sure what we stood for as Avengers after so long acting as the Tributes. "So… what now?"  
  
I was about to start explaining the plan I'd drawn up so far, but paused as I registered the expression on Anya's face as she studied Octavia, an eager look in her eyes as she fingered her new sword.  
  
"Do you really want to try your luck?" Octavia said somewhat cockily.  
  
"Do not assume your new found skills make you invincible," Anya returned, and I could hear the eagerness in her voice, both women giving the impression that they were saying more than the obvious. As though acting on some unspoken cue, both women walked over to one of the open training areas, Anya drawing her sword as Octavia drew a sword that seemed to be made of pure silver.  
  
"Uh… should we-?" Peeta asked.  
  
"I think this is something they both need to find out for themselves," Clarke answered before Peeta could finish the question, a tentative smile on her face as she watched the fight before us.  
  
"Find out what?" Finnick asked.  
  
"Who can kick whose ass," Johanna grinned as the other two women charged at each other. "It's the way they do things."  
  
As Anya brought her sword down, the blow was easily deflected by Octavia, the former Triku tribe leader working to force the sword down while Octavia held it back with ease. Anya tried shifting her stance to continue her current efforts, but Octavia effortlessly parried the blade and then delivered a kick to Anya's chest, knocking the sword out of Anya's hands and sending her flying backwards.  
  
"I'm far stronger than a regular human now," Octavia replied, the mischievous grin on her face still. "So how about you show me what it means when you go green?"  
  
As if on demand, the grounder immediately transformed into her Hulk state, charging towards Octavia as the other woman shifted into a combat stance. Octavia lashed out with her sword as soon as her green foe came in close enough, but Anya neatly ducked under the blow with surprising speed for something her size and struck Octavia in the chest, sending our newest member staggering backwards while gasping for air. Using this distraction, Anya dived to the ground in a roll that allowed her to come up with her sword once again in her hand, taking a tight grip of the handle before she charged towards Octavia once again.  
  
Regaining her breath in time to register the threat coming towards her, Octavia held out her right hand to form an intricate ice duplicate of her original weapon and block Anya's attack. For a moment, both women stood there, gazes locked with their opponent, before the two slowly backed away, Octavia sheathing her metal sword and dispersing the ice blade into nothing while Anya slowly returned to normal.  
  
"I did not believe there was anybody that could challenge me as I have become without the aid of _mauontek_ ," Anya said, a wide smile on her face. "It felt good."  
  
"We will definitely need to do this again," Octavia agreed, grinning at Anya with a new sense of respect.  
  
"OK," I said, stepping forward to look between the two women with a forced grin, "now that's out of the way, can we focus on the fact that we have a mountain to destroy?"  
  
I had spent the last few hours working out my next plan of attack, but now that I knew that the Avengers would be going into action at full strength, I would need to adjust the plan to take that into account. I already had a clear idea what Thor and Johanna were capable of after our past training sessions, but after seeing Octavia's new control of ice, I wanted to be sure how far that ability extended before I started making too many adjustments that might depend on her doing something she might not be capable of.


	30. What's in a Name?

"Captain Rogers?"

Looking up from his desk, Steve smiled at the sight of his old comrade, weathered but still as fighting fit as he had been when he joined the original iteration of the Avengers, standing awkwardly in the door.

"Thor," Steve smiled back at his friend, indicating the chair in front of the desk he had recently acquired in his 'office' in the Avengers' compound. "How was Asgard?"

"As awkward as one would have expected," Thor replied, as he sat down opposite the only remaining original Avenger. "I have been forced to face some… difficult past mistakes."

"Like abandoning the Ark?"

"You heard," Thor nodded, after looking grimly at his former team leader.

"Why didn't you tell us about them after we killed the Maestro?"

"As far as I knew, there was no way for you to get up to the Ark to help them," Thor replied solemnly. "And… I will confess, I had forgotten about it over the years since I retrieved Loki."

"There was no reason for you to keep it in mind after you left the Ark," Steve nodded in understanding. "I get it, Thor; do you think I never failed to save people when I was with the Howling Commandos?"

"You were unable to save people when you were facing the greater threat of Schmidt and HYDRA; that is not the same thing as my choosing not to save the people of the Ark-"

"Like Peeta said," Steve cut Thor off, "you were in a very bad place after the Maestro killed Clint and nearly killed me and Tony. It might not justify your decisions, but I can understand why you were acting like that."

"And you are not angry?"

"I moved past being angry at Bruce for what Snow was doing a long time ago," Steve smiled solemnly. "I decided long ago not to let Snow's actions now taint my memory of the hero Bruce could be when he was the Hulk; when you're actively trying to atone for your mistakes, I'm definitely not going to judge you for them."

"Even when so many people have died because of them?" Thor asked. "Even when my actions have had such consequences for my own niece?"

"If this world was perfect, people like us wouldn't be needed; it's why we can't stop trying to be better," Steve replied solemnly. "And as far as Octavia goes, it's not like you knew about Loki's family and decided not to give a crap about her on purpose; you didn't know she even existed until she triggered her powers."

"It doesn't change the fact that my own hubris forced her to live a life far harsher than she should have," Thor stated. "I had been resigned to the idea that I had no family left in the world, and then to learn that my brother sired a child with a human… there simply are no words to express my shame."

"I would have to agree with you, if only because I could never imagine Loki being a father," Steve replied. He paused for a moment and then sighed. "Tell me… was I being arrogant?"

"Arrogance?" Thor looked at Steve in surprise. "Of the two of us, I believe I am the one who has more often been accused of such a trait-"

"I mean in bringing the Avengers back together," Steve clarified, looking solemnly at his old friend. "It was basically just a name to rally the Tributes behind when I was preparing to go up against Snow; I thought it was a convenient label for what I was trying to do… but did I do the right thing letting them stay together?"

"I believe the danger the people of Panem and the Ark are facing right now speaks for itself-"

"Maybe I made the right call bringing them together, but was it right to give them the name?" Steve clarified. "I could have called them anything I wanted, but I decided to give them the name of the team who'd already failed to protect the world once because I thought that it was time to redeem the name…"

"You sought to redeem a legacy that meant a great deal before we were subject to exceptional circumstances that would have driven anyone to breaking point," Thor nodded reassuringly at his captain. "That is not behaviour to be ashamed of."

"But burdening them with all those expectations…"

"You stated yourself that the world was not perfect, and you must acknowledge that the Avengers were never a perfect group," Thor smiled. "As Banner observed, we were a diverse collection of elements that created chaos, but Colonel Fury recognised that we were more than that even when we were not aware of it ourselves. What made us heroes was not that we were perfect beings who could do no wrong, but that we were flawed beings who used what we could to help others whenever we had the opportunity to do so. The events that led to Banner's transformation into the Maestro were a tragedy, but I have learned to accept that; we cannot blame ourselves for what others drove our comrade to become. Blame General Ross, blame the men who were unlucky enough to kill Natasha, blame the likes of Blonsky who reinforced his fear of what others would do with his power if it was harnessed and controlled and thus drove him to isolate himself, but _never_ blame yourself."

"I've never blamed myself for what happened, but after everything that happened to us… do the new Avengers need that burden of responsibility?" Steve looked at Thor. "They've already got to deal with the burden of the Games-"

"And they have chosen to use the team you reformed to use those skills in a positive manner," Thor cut Steve off. "They are young, but they are old enough to acknowledge the good and the bad that we accomplished as Avengers and choose to acknowledge the good we accomplished before we lost Agent Romanoff rather than fixate on how we failed after her death. That you respect and mourn her loss is a credit to you, but do you believe that you have single-handedly manipulated all of these people to see you as some infallible figure? Even Clarke Griffin and Callie have shown respect for what we stood for, and we may be certain that their views on us were never coloured by your attempts to exert such influence."

"Point," Steve smiled thankfully at his friend.

"You may doubt many things, Commander Steven Rogers, but never doubt that you have created a worthy group of heroes," Thor said firmly. "Mockingjay, Mariner, and the She-Hulk are allies that we would have been proud to invite to join us back when you and I were on the team, and Iron Man, Black Widow and the Falcon are worthy heirs to the examples set by Stark, Romanoff and Wilson; you have chosen well, and I have faith that they and others will continue to live up to the expectations you have set for them."

"…Thanks," Steve said, before he looked at Thor with a new sense of curiosity. "On the topic of what we stand for as Avengers, are you sure you're OK with Katniss-?"

"As I have assured Mockingjay, Captain, I have no trouble following her orders when we are out in the field," Thor smiled at the old man. "I will offer my expertise when we face a threat where I have greater knowledge than yourself or Mockingjay, but I am as content to follow her orders as I was willing to follow yours when you led us."

"Really?" Steve looked at his friend in surprise, suddenly ashamed to realise that he'd never asked Thor about that part of his role in the new team.

"Mockingjay has helped me to remember that we cannot judge others by one specific tragedy, but must judge them by how they face adversity on a wider scale," the God of Thunder replied with a solemn smile. "We have all faltered, but we always got back up afterwards to continue the fight; Mockingjay reminds us of that every time she wields your shield."

"You… uh… You'd better get going," Steve said, blinking awkwardly for a few moments even as he looked at Thor with warm understanding. "Clarke and Katniss went to a lot of trouble convincing Anya to go along with this scheme; she's going to be annoyed if you're not there to back them up."

"I shall," Thor said, placing Mjolnir on the desk as he looked at Steve. "Bring that with you when the main attack begins."

"You'll get it back soon," Steve affirmed.

"I shall never give you reason to doubt that I will," Thor replied solemnly, before he left the room to rejoin the rest of the team.

Looking at the hammer, Steve smiled as he remembered those dark days after he'd first regained consciousness following the Maestro's first declaration of his new identity, able to do little more than stare at the abandoned hammer as Tony struggled to put together the components needed to restore them both to some semblance of mobility, bringing him out of his coma long enough to explain the situation before sticking him back 'on ice'.

Back then, seeing Mjolnir had been a reminder that the two most powerful Avengers had fallen, but now it was a symbol of how the team had come back together, as the lord of Asgard entrusted the first Avenger with the symbol and source of so much of his power.

As his organic hand reached out to touch the strap, Steve smiled at the thought of what was to come.

 _Mount Weather won't know what hit it_.


	31. Rally the Troops

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It'll be a while before we get back to Katniss's narrative, but the next few chapters just work better if everyone's narrating them; hope you like what Knight and I have come up with anyway

Crouching among the trees so close to the mountain, Clarke Griffin hoped that she had prepared herself properly for what they were about to try. As much as she had faith in what she'd seen of Mockingjay's tactical expertise, considering that the woman had been trained by Captain America himself, there was never going to be any circumstances where planning to get captured by the enemy was a strategy she was going to be totally comfortable with.

She appreciated that Katniss and Thor were taking part in this plan as well, but she still felt uncomfortable handing herself over to the residents of Mount Weather after she'd spent so long trying to get away from them. She had spent so long these last few days training to use the Falcon's harness that she had almost instinctively protested against the idea of going into battle without it, even if it hadn't taken long for her to agree with Katniss's argument that they needed to try and catch the 'Mountain Men' off-guard. Clarke and the others could carry more conventional weapons, but showing up with a high-powered jet-pack, an indestructible round shield and a hammer nobody else could lift would give away too much.

With weapons eliminated as an option from the beginning, there had been some argument about who was going to take part on this mission. Clarke had acknowledged that she and Anya were the obvious choices to get recaptured, as the Mountain Men would be looking for them in particular, and it had made sense for Katniss and Thor to volunteer to come along as well, as both were skilled fighters even without Thor's superior strength to take into account. She had even understood why Peeta/Iron Man, Prim/Black Widow and Johanna/Bloodaxe weren't coming along; Prim was better suited for a stealth infiltration than this relatively public approach, Peeta had admitted that he wasn't very good at physical combat without the armour, and while Johanna had training she wasn't sure how much of an asset she'd be without her artificial arm.

A part of her wished that Octavia could have come along, but considering the scope of everything the Ark's only living sibling had been through recently, Clarke couldn't blame Octavia for needing to check something in Asgard rather than take part in this attack. Her new team needed to keep some powerhouses in reserve if this planned infiltration went wrong, and Octavia was definitely a grey area considering that she was strong but didn't have much experience with her powers.

 _And I'm part of a team that has to think about us packing_ too _much power…_

A faint sound from further along prompted Clarke to look up, but smiled slightly as she saw Thor walking along the forest, looking around himself in an exaggerated manner. Clarke turned around to try and spot her other allies- Anya and Katniss might be more experienced in the woods, but they were deliberately _trying_ to be careless now- but the moment came to an end when she heard the low sound of a gun being fired. As she felt a prick in the back of her neck, Clarke allowed herself a brief smile as she fell to the ground, glancing over to see Thor hit the ground in a more exaggerated manner a short distance away.

The Asgardian king was obviously exaggerating the effect that the drug was having on him, but there was definitely something amusing about the idea of that particular Avenger _pretending_ to get captured by these guys…

* * *

After Bellamy was thrown into a new room by the guards, he barely had time to scramble to his feet before the door was closed behind him. Taking the time to look at his new surroundings, he saw he was in a completely white room, devoid of furniture but surprising full of a mix of people. A good number of the people he could tell were Grounders by their clothing, but the others were too well-dressed to be Grounders, while at the same time they were clearly too old to be part of the Hundred, and he had to believe he'd have been aware if more people from the Ark had been captured.  
  
"Hey," an old man said, wearing older blue overall and glasses as he looked at Bellamy. "You OK?"  
  
"I'm… fine," Bellamy said, taking a moment to process the man's face; the beating he'd just taken during his capture had addled his memory, but he was fairly sure that this guy had been one of the contacts that Maya girl had introduced him to. "Wh… what's going on?"  
  
"Cage Wallace has staged a coup."  
  
"And remind me… who's Cage Wallace to President Wallace?"  
  
"His son," the older man said bitterly.  
  
"Not a great guy, I take it?" Bellamy asked, feeling increasingly apprehensive as he took in the grim attitude of the more well-dressed people in the room; he still wasn't sure what was about to happen here, but this didn't look good.  
  
"Everyone here who didn't come from outside are Wallace's political enemies," the man explained.  
  
"And in this context, that means that they… what?"  
  
"We're condemned because we didn't approve of his plans for the 'savages' and wanted to find a more peaceful resolution," the man explained solemnly, his gaze softening as he glanced at the door. "I didn't do much for the movement myself- that was my wife more than anything- but when my daughter got involved in her name…"  
  
"You took it so she wouldn't?" Bellamy finished, feeling himself relax as he looked at this man in new understanding.  
  
His mother might have been the one to take the punishment when Octavia was discovered, but he liked to think he would have done the same thing if he'd had the chance…  
  
"Knowing Cage, he's probably doing it this way just to make sure Maya realises she shouldn't do anything else against him," the man said bitterly. "I don't think it'll make any difference, really- she's as stubborn as her mother ever was and a better person by far- but…"  
  
He shrugged helplessly, but Bellamy understood the point that the man was trying to make; as he'd learned since he arrived on the ground, there was no way to know how you'd react in certain situations. Clarke had done her best to be the hero looking for peace, and he…  
  
He didn't know what he'd become any more, but in a world where the Avengers had returned to protect humanity, he knew that he'd fallen short.  
  
"How can the rest of your people be alright with this?" Bellamy asked.  
  
"Generations of fear, of being confined to the lower levels of the mountain," the other man replied grimly. "They're ready to do anything just about anything to be free, because they see no other options, so they'll follow someone who can promise them freedom, even if it's offered by a monster like Cage. This execution they have planned for us… if anything, it'll just make them even more certain that his way is the only way."  
  
Looking back at the door and beyond the glass panel, Bellamy saw Tsing staring at them in a way that was definitely far from normal. He got that he was bad at reading people, but if they were going to be killed, why would she do it here in this sterile room, rather than somewhere bigger that could be used as some kind of sick shooting gallery?  
  
He didn't know what was going on here, but he was becoming increasingly certain that this was going to be a serious problem…

* * *

_How long is he going to keep me waiting?_ Tsing thought, annoyed at being kept waiting this long; she had been here for almost thirty minutes past the scheduled time, with no sign of the president…  
  
"Sorry for the delay," the aforethought President's voice came in the room, the young man carrying himself with his usual self-assured manner. "I just needed to find the right suit."  
  
Lorelei stared at Cage with a dead pan expression. "You must be joking."  
  
"Well it did take me a while to find the right suit to wear for such an occasion," Cage offered as one of his men brought in the radio. "But I wanted to have the equipment ready. After the confirmed failure of the missile strikes, I want to have something that everyone will be talking about. Something that will make it clear to everyone outside this mountain; we will not be denied our birthright."  
  
"Even our own people?" Tsing gestured to the people inside the room. "As a scientist I appreciate the variety of subjects, but executing twenty five people seems a bit much."  
  
Cage looked back to her with an expression that said he was not to be overturned. "This skirmish has lasted for far too long already. There was a small but growing group within our people, believing we could make peace with the savages. They need to be reminded that I can bring them salvation and our enemies need to fear us." He eyed the container to the left. "That's it isn't it? The weapon my father eventually told you to discontinue experimentation with."  
  
"It is."  
  
"Tell me it will kill them horribly," Cage said, looking over at the subjects.  
  
"Oh believe me Mr. President, with this weapon you will get exactly what you have asked for," Lorelai vowed.

* * *

"Look," Peeta said, looking in exasperation at the two Ark leaders as the Avengers stood in the large tent that had been set up for the Commander's use, "we're not going to get anywhere if we keep talking about this; we only have a few hours before the attack has to start, so let's just cut the crap!"  
  
"Yeah, you want to listen to this guy," Finnick smiled, indicating Peeta with his trident. "I get that it's probably a matter of record that Stark had issues, but when _this_ Iron Man starts swearing, you know it's a problem."  
  
"You can't expect us to commit our full resources to something like this on the word of a few self-proclaimed heroes who're-" Abby began.  
  
"Who're what?" Johanna cut the older woman off. "Not perfect? No offence, lady, but _nobody_ here is perfect; we're doing the best we can with the tools at hand."  
  
"But couldn't we just-?"  
  
"If you are about to say suggestion negotiation, do you not believe I have made such an effort already?" Lexa cut Marcus off with a firm glare. "I have attempted to reach out in the past ever since I formed the original Alliance among the Twelve Clans, and have merely been turned away and treated like a child who does not understand why the elders must hunt the more dangerous beasts."  
  
"Well…" Marcus began uncertainly, only for the radio to suddenly come to life.  
  
" _Attention invaders, this is President Cage Wallace,"_ the cultured and arrogant tone of the speaker put everyone on edge. _"To whoever is monitoring this channel, I ask you fetch the Leaders of the Ark and the Coalition. I have a statement to deliver."_  
  
"I… we're here," Abby said, looking anxiously around the room for a moment (Peeta chose to assume she was at least checking that none of the Avengers disapproved of her responding to this call).  
  
" _I would ask how your people are_ ," Wallace said, Johanna choosing silence to test this man's reaction, " _but seeing as you somehow prevented our missile strike, I imagine they're alright_."  
  
"You mean the strike where you would have killed scores of human beings without provocation?" Abby retorted angrily, glaring at the radio. "Everything that has happened here has been a result of your own people's actions."  
  
" _You know, it didn't have to come to this for your people from the Ark_ ," Cage continued, never missing a step, as though Abby's condemnation was irrelevant in favour of what he had to say to them. " _We tried to make you understand our plight, but you chose to side with the savages. You chose to send a spy to sabotage our plans of restoring the United States of America. But he didn't just cause problems to our systems; he corrupted some of our own people to commit treason. So now you all must pay the price for treason against this great nation_."  
  
"He wants to 'bring back America'?" Johanna looked over at Finnick, even as she kept her voice low. "I thought we had the symbol of that nation telling us not to bother?"  
  
"And you think they care about that?" Peeta said grimly.  
  
"What's going on?" another voice said. Everyone inside the tent turned to see Octavia at the entrance, looking solemn yet intimidating in her new Asgardian attire.  
  
"What happened with Asgard?" Johanna asked, trying to distract her attention.  
  
"Already taken care of," Octavia replied quickly. "I'll show you all later but again what is going on here? Something is seriously up."  
  
"Ah, O.," Raven looked awkwardly at the other woman, mind already racing to consider how to hide the reality from this woman. "Maybe you should just go-"  
  
"I'm here," Octavia glared at the mechanic. "And if you don't want me here, that makes it clear I _have_ to be."  
  
" _Right before the Nuclear Wars came down to their climax_ ," Cage's voice said over the radio once again, " _our military experimented on various new weapons. We had the obvious ones, such as biological weapons, but one of them was created by something as simple as smashing an artificially created crystal_."  
  
The next sound they heard was sound of something shattering, followed by the sounds of screams. But Octavia only cared about one in particular.  
  
Even over a radio, she could easily recognise her brother's voice.  
  
"BELLAMY!" the young woman screamed out, falling to her knees in anguish. Raven moved in right beside her, trying to comfort her.  
  
" _It takes less than sixty seconds for those exposed to the gas released by the shattered crystal to turn human beings into nothing more than..."_ Cage waited a moment, the screams of the victims dying out, before the president could be heard chuckling slightly. _"Well, nothing more than giant stone statues of themselves."_  
  
"You sick bastard," Marcus spat.  
  
Johanna might be angry at the man for what she'd heard from Callie about the cullings he'd supported on the Ark, but she could at least appreciate that Marcus Kane had always believed he was doing the right thing to save what he thought was all that remained of the human race. When Cage killed these people, he didn't have any real excuse for his actions beyond that he just wanted to prolong the suffering of others.  
  
" _I am not sick_ ," Cage said, his tone demonstrating a sense of pride that put the three Avengers present uncomfortably in mind of their meetings with Snow before they'd learned the secret of the Maestro. " _I have merely demonstrated what will happen to the enemies of our people. If you attempt to attack I will release this biological weapon on your people and it will kill every human it comes into contact with. Right now, I wish to speak to the Commander. We have executed five of your people as retaliation for this alliance you have made against us but I assure you we still have dozens more of your people under our tender care_." He paused a moment. " _But I am a fair president and we no longer have need of them. Agree to withdraw your forces from attacking our home, and I will release them. I give you my word and as I have demonstrated, I am a man of my word. Failure to do will result in their deaths, in the same horrible manner as that pathetic spy that incurred my wrath_."  
  
"I… OK, are we seriously going to _believe_ this guy?" Johanna looked at the rest of the tent.  
  
"Doubtful," Finnick affirmed. "This guy's made it clear he barely sees the Coalition as anything but savages; he could probably tell himself that he's not lying because he isn't lying to 'people'."  
  
"Amen to that," Raven said firmly, before she turned to see Lexa looking contemplatively at the radio. "Oh hell no… tell me you're not-"  
  
"Enough," Lexa held up a hand grimly. "I will consider _everything_."  
  
With those grim words, Lexa reached out to take hold of the radio, and was just about to hit 'Send' when someone firmly grasped her hand. For a moment, Lexa was about to respond in anger, but that reaction faltered when she looked into the eyes of the person holding her hand in a firm grip, and could see the multitude of emotions playing in them: pain, sorrow, rage and conviction.  
  
"Giv em tou ai," Octavia spoke in Lexa's native language. Out of respect, but also out of curiosity, Lexa handed the radio over to the young woman.  
  
Octavia held the radio for a long moment, collecting herself as the others looked anxiously at her, none of them quite willing to take action to stop a clearly determined woman take the first steps on a path that she could never go back on…  
  
 _They just executed twenty five people for nothing. They murdered my brother for nothing._  
  
That thought made it that much clearer for her, as she pressed the send button and made her choice. "You just sealed your fate," she said bluntly. "Yours and that of your people."  
  
" _Who the hell is this?_ " Cage demanded, sounding irritated. " _I want to speak to the Commander, not some nobody."_  
  
"'Some nobody'?" Octavia countered mockingly. "For a 'President', you're really showing a lack of common sense. When my father came to this world to conquer it centuries ago, he said you were all dull, pathetic creatures; with you, I definitely find no fault in his words."  
  
Octavia ignored the stares now being directed at her by every person from the Ark in the area, simply waiting for Cage to pick his metaphorical jaw off the floor and respond. " _Who is this_?"  
  
"I am Octavia of Asgard, daughter of Loki, the Prince that nearly conquered this world when it was still pristinely unspoiled, before incompetent mortals like you ruined it with your wars and petty squabbles," she responded, channelling the high and mighty tone of her supposed betters in the Ark when she has been a prisoner as well, as drawing upon the myth that had been built upon on her father in the minds of humanity. "You executed twenty five people to make a statement. You murdered your own people, as well as a few of your coalition hostages, but that doesn't matter to me. The spy from the Ark on the other hand, he was the only human being I ever cared about. He was the only thing that kept me from tearing your precious mountain apart and ending the lot of you for your crimes… and I feel that I should confirm that your bio weapon will have _no_ effect on me."  
  
" _Even if I… were to believe your… claim_ ," Cage said (Octavia had to give him credit; even if he probably assumed she was lying or crazy, he seemed to be fairly composed after that threat), " _you are one person. We're safe and protected within our mountain. How do you think you'll get in?"_  
  
"Oh Cage," Octavia chuckled jovially before making sure her voice took on a malicious tone. "I was so hoping you'd say that." She turned back to Lexa, handing the radio over to her before she turned to study the other people in the tent, smiling at the multitude of looks and stares now directed to her.  
  
"You—you aren't really…" Abby stared to say, only for it to die on her lips as she looked into Octavia's eyes.  
  
"Yes, and before you ask, no, Bellamy isn't- wasn't his son," Octavia corrected herself with bitterness before looking over everyone. "And for the record, I didn't know Loki was my father until four days ago when Thor told me."  
  
"I can back that up," Johanna cut in. "I was there when Thor introduced them to each other, and O. here was _not_ prepared for that particular bit of info."  
  
"And while we're talking about family," Peeta began uncomfortably, "I get that what just happened to Octavia's brother is… terrible, but keep in mind that we're trying to be the better people here-"  
  
"I don't care about being the 'better people' when that ass of a 'president' just murdered my brother and innocent people for _nothing_!" Octavia cut the former baker off, glaring at the new Iron Man. "I'm going to bring his entire damn world down around him. I'm going to _avenge_ my brother's death. Now get the hell out of my way."  
  
"But…" Peeta began, his attempts at protest dying away as his gaze met Octavia's, leaving him to step uncertainly aside.  
  
Octavia simply nodded at the new Iron Man before she marched out of the tent. Lexa looked over the others in the tent, seeing their reactions to Octavia. Awe, disbelief and fear were among them. It made Lexa very curious about what had changed that could draw such a reaction of the people of Skaikru. With a gesture of her hands to her men that had been with her, she began swiftly moving in the direction Octavia had been moving. She could feel that this conflict was about to take an even more drastic turn and Octavia would be the reason for it.  
  
It was another minute or so before anyone could actually break the silence. "Are we really going to let this just happen?" Marcus finally asked.  
  
"I think you need to remember that we're dealing with the daughter of the guy who brought the Avengers together in the first place; if it took Earth's mightiest heroes to stop her dad, there's not that much we can do when we're all in favour of what she's planning to do," Johanna pointed out with a slight smile. "Add in the fact that we pretty much _have_ to go up against the mountain at this point, the question really becomes why we're drawing this out."  
  
"We should take the recommendation of a woman who calls herself 'Bloodaxe'?" Abby asked.  
  
"You should take the advice of an experienced Avenger who realises that we've got to deal with this mess before things get worse," Johanna countered, before she turned back to the other two Avengers. "OK, so we've got about half the team already in that mountain, the four of us ready to hit the place from the outside, and the Ice Maiden there as an extra bit of 'oomph'; did I miss anything?"  
  
"Steve's ready to take that hammer to the mountain so Thor can go all-out," Finnick observed.  
  
"And Prim… well, obviously Katniss won't _want_ her to fight, but she's available if a stealth approach becomes important," Peeta added.  
  
"And… there's us," Marcus said, swallowing slightly as he looked apprehensively at Abby.  
  
"There is?" Abby said.  
  
"Yes," Marcus said, looking out of the tent after Octavia with a slight smile. "We're going to… I get that it's a risk, but right now, I think staying with the Avengers is the best thing we can do right now."


	32. Assault on Mount Weather

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter completed with some important assistance from David Knight; his ideas for Octavia's storyline in particular have been of great assistance.

Waking up to find herself in a white examination room was still an uncomfortable experience, but at least this time around Clarke had a range of advantages, including knowing where she was and who she was with. A quick glance around the room was more than enough to confirm that Katniss, Anya and Thor were in the room with her; the other three appeared to be asleep, but Katniss was already moving and she had a strong feeling that Thor had convinced Anya to pretend that they were still affected by the tranquilisers until everyone else was awake to hide their enhanced physiology from their enemies.

"Guys?" she said, deciding to exaggerate her apprehension until she and the others were ready to act. "What happened? Where are we?"

" _Back in Mount Weather, Miss Griffin_ ," a familiar smug voice said from a radio, which confirmed Clarke's worst fears.

"Cage," she said, letting out a growl as she turned her attention to a more thorough assessment of the room itself, soon noticing a large mirror on one wall. "Let me guess; you're behind there?"

" _Correct_ ," Cage replied smugly. " _Care to introduce us to your new associates? I mean, I recognise your partner in escape from our cameras, but who are the other two_?"

"Katniss and Blake," Clarke replied, briefly wondering why Thor had chosen that as his alias when making their plans before getting her mind back on the matter at hand. "What do you want with us?"

" _Mainly your 'assistance' in talking down some of your more… unconventional associates outside_ ," Cage explained, Thor and Anya carefully moving their arms as though searching for weapons while Katniss let out a low groan.

"'Unconventional associates'?" Clarke repeated; she had a feeling Cage was referring to the other Avengers, but she wasn't going to give away any names until he told her something explicit. "You spend the better part of the last few years terrorising them by acting like a bunch of vampires who can't even be bothered draining them all at once, and _now_ you're worried about them?"

" _Hardly 'worried', Miss Griffin_ ," Cage replied. " _It would just make things easier if you convinced them that attacking us would serve no purpose but inflicting more death_ -"

"And letting you continue like this _also_ causes more death; it's just more drawn out that way," Clarke retorted.

" _Maybe we should see how your new associates feel about that_ ," Cage said, his tone hovering on that frustrating edge where it was hard to be sure if he was being threatening or thought he was being 'funny'. " _After all, why should they get caught up in our own little vendetta_ …?"

"Little… vendetta?" Katniss's voice cut in, Clarke looking back to hide her smile as her new team's leader groaned and slowly sat up from the bench she'd been lying on. "You're killing people…"

" _Only to ensure the survival of this planet… Katniss, is it_?" Cage said. " _After all_ -"

The sound of someone knocking urgently against something on the other side of the window prompted a brief murmur of frustration from Cage, but any chance of wondering what that was about ended when Clarke clearly heard the radio being turned off, followed by the faint sound of a door opening as she strained her ears.

"OK…" she looked uncertainly at the other Avengers. "What do we do now?"

"Wait," Katniss said with an awkward shrug, winching as she glanced over at Thor and Anya to confirm that they were both looking at her as well. "We have to let the others do their thing before we tip our own hand."

* * *

_Of all the times for something like that to happen,_ Cage thought to himself as the door opened and a security officer rushed in.  
  
"Mr President," the man began to say only to be cut off by Cage's glare.  
  
"Whatever you have to say had best be of the utmost importance for interrupting me at this moment," Cage hissed.  
  
"I'm sorry sir, but you had to be made aware of this," the guard replied, his voice trembling in a manner Cage wasn't used to hearing from his men. "It's the savages, they're gathering at our gate-!"  
  
"We are safe in the Mountain away from their feeble, primitive weapons; even the people of the Ark can't breach us," Cage scoffed. "What could make you tremble before-?"  
  
"Loki's daughter!"  
  
Cage blinked at the man's words. "What did you say?"  
  
"A young woman wearing an outfit that greatly resembles Loki's costume in the historical records," the guard stammered. "She's not just- we heard about- she's led the savages right to our doorstep!"  
  
At that moment, all thoughts of taunting Clarke and her fellow captives fled the President's mind, focused instead on his new need to have eyes on the front gate to see this for himself. As he made his way to the command centre, he got on the radio and told the guards to get behind the door and have their weapons hot. He wanted them ready to gun that girl down if she somehow brought it down.  
  
It was all but impossible that the girl really had the power to do what she claimed, but when reports of survivors in space had long been dismissed until a few weeks ago, it was best to be absolutely certain of even the most unlikely possibility…

* * *

Even at her most daring, Lexa had never imagined that the day would come when she would be standing outside the gates of Mount Weather with any confidence that this was the day that the Maunon would fall. She was still privately uncertain what the identity of Octavia's father had to do with the way the other 'Avengers' had reacted to her joining their efforts, but for the moment she was willing to put that aside so long as Octavia continued to fight for them.  
  
In any case, having witnessed the young woman's powers, Lexa was curious to see what else the young woman could do, particularly when alongside such unusual weapons as Johanna's axe and the complex suit of armour worn by the man who called himself 'Peeta'. Admittedly, she also wondered what made the old man who seemed to wear parts of Peeta's armour and the small girl in black consider themselves 'Avengers' when they were explicitly not taking part in this fight, or why so much emphasis had been placed on the old man carrying Thor's hammer in his unarmoured hand, but as with the question of Octavia's father, this was not the time for her to consider such questions.  
  
At the moment, the other two Avengers were waiting in the flying vehicle that the heroes used for transportation, along with the leaders of the Ark. The rest of the Skaikru and Lexa's own Coalition forces were gathered a short distance from the large entrance, leaving Lexa to stand with the other remaining Avengers as they faced the door to Mount Weather.  
  
"Ready?" Peeta glanced over at Octavia.  
  
Without a word, Octavia put her hands out to her sides. At first Lexa was unsure of her plan but then saw snow falling from her hands as if it was coming from the skies. When Octavia threw her hands forward and streams of ice erupted from her hands, the grounder commander took a step back reflexively yet could not stop the awe showing upon her face for a moment. It was a matter of mere minutes until Octavia had frozen the door solid as well as part of the mountain that the door was attached to.  
  
Octavia then stopped shooting ice from her hands, allowing the wisps of cold to subside, before offering her hand to Lexa. "We should not be here for what will happen next."  
  
Opting to trust the young woman, Lexa took the offered hand and allowed Octavia to lead her a distance away closer to their people but still away. As she let go of her hand, Lexa looked at Octavia, whose face was no longer calm but now showing all of the rage and emotion she had to have kept bottled up, releasing that emotion with an incredible scream of grief and rage, projected outwards into a single unfamiliar word.  
  
"FENRIS!"  
  
No one understood what that meant, but suddenly Lexa could hear the howl of a wolf. She wondered if it belonged to Octavia, but barely had time to question what a single wolf could do in their current campaign before the ground beneath their army shook as she heard something massive coming towards the mountain. There was another howl and a great burst of air that took everyone's attention to the forest behind them, just in time to see a beast leap out of the trees. Far larger than any animal seen by anyone on Earth, the wolf landed squarely in front of the Commander, Octavia, and the other Avengers.  
  
For a moment, Lexa stared up in shock and fear at the sight of the massive beast above her. It was like something out of a child's nightmares, where elders would tell stories to disobedient children of great beasts that would gobble up youngons that did not follow the rules. She could already hear her people raising their weapons, ready to move, but looking at Octavia inspired Lexa to raise her hand, an immediate gesture to her people to hold their positions.  
  
Octavia was still standing, and the wolf, which Lexa now assumed was the previously called Fenris, was looking at the other woman in an obedient manner, as if it were a trained dog or hawk. Evidently, despite Lexa's initial concerns, this was Octavia's beast and it obeyed her will.  
  
A fact that was soon reinforced by Octavia's next action as she pointed to the frozen door.  
  
"Break. It. Down," the young woman said, each word dripping with pain and hate.  
  
Fenris picked up on its mistress' pain, and its manner became greatly agitated, as it understood who were Octavia's friends and identified their new enemies. Growling, the Asgardian wolf ran full steam at the frozen ice, leaping into the air a short distance away from its target, twisting its body to use as a battering ram against the door that had withstood nearly a hundred years. When Fenris collided with it, it shattered into a thousand pieces.  
  
" _Damn_ …" Finnick nodded from just behind Lexa, looking at the shattered door in approval.  
  
"I could've done that, y'know," Johanna glanced over at Octavia as she gave her axe a brief spin.  
  
"I guessed," the dark-haired half-human smiled at the one-armed woman. "I just decided using Fenris would be more dramatic than hacking it down with a big axe."  
  
"And would you mind clearing up exactly _where_ you found a giant wolf?" Peeta asked.  
  
"Remember how I said I had to go back to Asgard to act on a feeling?" Octavia pointed over to the obedient Asgardian beast.  
  
"That's what you went to get?" Finnick raised a surprised eyebrow. "How did you end up taming something like that in a few hours?"  
  
"All Heimdal would say when we found him, in a forest miles away from _any_ form of civilization, was that I would have to speak to my uncle about his origins," Octavia replied, a genuine smile on her lips as she looked over towards Fenris affectionately. A look that was seemingly returned by the wolf. "He has been rather eager to listen to me, but Heimdal wasn't having as much luck with him; think he was glad Fenris left Asgard with me, to be honest."  
  
"Not that I don't get why he kept some of them, but I'm not the only one wondering how many damn secrets hammer boy has, right?" Johanna muttered.  
  
"I'll be sure to ask him, once we end this." Octavia walked towards the shattered door, Lexa following behind her with the radio. As they reached the door, the two women would see the long open path stretching before them, Fenris standing in front of them and half a dozen Mountain men, in their protective suits, holding trembling guns in their hands as they tried to aim at the wolf. Fenris growled and one of them opened fire, causing the rest to follow suit, only for Fenris to shield Octavia and Lexa with its body, the expended bullets prompting a more ferocious growling from the beast before the guards ran out of bullets with no sign that the wolf had actually taken any damage.  
  
"Play. No kill," Octavia commanded. With a nod, the wolf leapt into the fray as it began to attack the frightened men Cage had sent as a first response. Octavia looked back to Lexa, holding her hand. "May I have the radio back please?"  
  
Wordlessly, Lexa handed it back. Octavia hit the send button on the radio.  
  
"Can you hear this, Cage?" She raised it in the air, allowing for the screams of the guards to be heard by everyone on the other end. "This is the sound of my wolf _playing_ with the men you sent on a suicide mission. Do you believe me now, you pathetic little man, when I tell you who I am?" She allowed for a dramatic pause. "You've taken something from me that can never be replaced. So now, I am going to return the favour. I am going to take all that you hold near and dear from you. When Fenris is done playing, I will interrogate the survivors to know what other traps you might have. They will tell me where you are and then I will make my way down you."  
  
"To everyone living in the mountain, my issue is with your President; if you value your lives, then remain in your rooms. I have no wish to kill foolish humans that know no better, but to anyone that tries to stop me, I will end their lives, and my only mercy will be that it will be a swift death." She deliberately paused, allowing the people in the mountain to let that sink in before she spoke with as much venom and malice as she could put into her own voice, which given what they had was not that hard. "But there is no escape from this for you, Cage. There is no way out. I am coming for you, I will find you and when I do, I will end you. This is my vow to you, _Mr. President_."  
  
Wordlessly, Octavia handed the radio back to Lexa and watched with grim satisfaction as Fenris 'played' with the soldiers of Mount Weather. Octavia clenched her fists as she looked on and felt herself understanding her father more than ever now.  
  
 _For what they did to you, Bell… I am going to make them suffer._

* * *

In the control room, Cage was standing in utter shock, unable to believe either the sound of what Octavia had just said over the radio or the sight of the security cameras showing what that monstrous wolf-thing was doing to his men around the gate. Even with that evidence, it wasn't until he saw her attire on the monitor that he finally believed it; he had truly offended the daughter of Loki.  
  
Already he could hear the men and women around him speaking in hushed whispers. That was the only thing that was getting past the fear in his mind. The knowledge that his own people were becoming afraid of her, that they were considering her words…  
  
Specifically, the knowledge that the guard on his left was reaching for his gun when there was no external threat nearby.  
  
Without any hesitation, Cage pulled out the side arm he kept on his person at all times and shot the soldier in the head before the guard could pull his weapon on him in some pathetic attempt to hand him over to the Asgardian (or whatever she was) in order to spare his life. _As if that would solve our problem now,_ he thought in disgust. He saw everyone in the room turn their gaze towards him, all of them surprised and some of them fearful, likely wondering if he had gone mad.  
  
"I understand things look bad. Believe me, I do," Cage said, trying his best to keep his voice from trembling; regardless of his own fears, he needed to project strength in this situation. "I had no way of knowing that she valued one life so much. But this is far from over. We have a weapon at our disposal that can kill her."  
  
"She's already said the bio-weapon we used on the condemned won't affect her!" one of his lieutenants shouted.  
  
"I'm not talking about using that weapon," Cage said eerily calm. "I'm talking about _him._ "  
  
That statement inspired a new wave of terror among his gathered forces.  
  
"You can't mean…" another lieutenant stared incredulously at Cage. "He'll kill us all! We've kept him locked up for so long-!"  
  
"Evacuate all our people to the levels below his dock," Cage ordered. "It will allow the invaders to think we are taking the alien's threat seriously and perhaps lower their guard. The Abomination will kill the majority of our enemies with just his fists and if all goes well he'll kill the Asgardian witch; considering that reports state that the Hulk once beat Loki himself, the Abomination should be able to handle Loki's daughter. Once that's done, we will use Tsing's weapon on him; he's served his purpose now that Tsing nearly has the answer to us going out into the world, so we don't need to worry about keeping the Reapers around for long." He stared at the room. "Now move! These are orders from your president!"  
  
Scared and frightened, the people in the room began to give orders to others. Nodding, Cage decided to take an escort with him back to Clarke's cell. The spy that the spawn loved was one of the 100, which meant Clarke probably knew him and perhaps knew the woman. He needed as much information as possible to bury his enemies in order to retain his position and if he had to shoot Clarke Griffin and her friends full of holes in order to get that information then that was what he would do.  
  
Nothing would stop him from being the saviour of mankind.

* * *

"Leave it to Octavia to make a scene," Raven stated, the young mechanic now standing alongside the remaining Avengers, even if things were anything but calm. The Grounders were in utter awe of the hybrid child, with her seemingly magical power over ice, her superhuman strength, and her ability to control the largest animal any of them had ever seen…  
  
For a culture that centred around warriors, Octavia had virtually instantaneously become someone that all of her soldiers could respect and see as a peer. For Raven it was a total reverse of how Anya and her clan had viewed the 100 months ago.  
  
"Well," Finnick smiled, looking around the Coalition army with a slight smile, "looks like even our detractors are a bit more willing to talk now."  
  
"Advantage of tossing a big wolf into the equation," Johanna smiled. "Guess it's like they said in the old days; 'speak softly and carry a big stick', and we just showed them we can deploy the stick as well as speak softly."  
  
"Yeah, that's probably right," Raven sighed, looking over to her left, where the people of Camp Jaha were basically in silent chaos. There were already whispers and murmurs could be heard about, but the phrase 'Loki's Daughter' was a prominent topic.  
  
"Guess it was too much to hope Octavia's reveal during her little speech there wouldn't have spread," Peeta said, Raven grimly shaking her head in acknowledgement. He noticed a bald middle aged man wearing an Ark Guard uniform being the most vocal opponent towards Octavia. "Who is that?"  
  
"Denby. One of the older and definitely one of the more rougher members of the Guard," Raven answered, her tone showing she didn't care much for the man. "Ever since word got out about O, he's been trying to get anyone to listen to him about remembering what Loki did during the Battle of New York. He's really starting to rile our people up."  
  
"Before the world ended, we were invaded by beings from the stars and they were led by one man: Loki! He brought death and destruction upon New York, thousands died! One of my ancestors died from what happened!" Denby could be heard, sounding much more vocal than Raven had ever heard him sound before. "Now we find out that the girl that should have never existed is his daughter?"  
  
"What difference does it make who her father is?" one of the Grounders said, fed up with this conversation. "The Maunon's gates have been broken! No one has ever done that! We can get our people back!"  
  
"Do you turn your backs to a snake?" Denby retorted. "You people don't remember the history of the old world so I'll say it as many times need be; Loki nearly brought an end to the world and we should expect no less from his daughter. She's probably got in her head to use this entire situation to her advantage and pick up where daddy left off. He came here the first time because he wanted the world; why should we believe she's any different-?"  
  
"OK!" Peeta stepped forward, firing a quick repulsor blast into the air to try and calm down the conversation. "Firstly, this girl hasn't even shown that she _wants_ to take charge of anything right now, and secondly, do you really think we'd _let_ anyone take over the world after we spent the better part of the last year trying to save it?"  
  
"And what good have you been! The Avengers of old all died and couldn't save this world from Armageddon!" Denby replied, looking over them with disdain. "You're all practically children. You have no idea of our hardships or any comprehension of the past-"  
  
"Right, because I _clearly_ lost my arm and got entrusted with an axe that used to belong to the _King of Asgard_ because I was screwing around playing games," Johanna cut him off, waving her artificial hand in the man's face.  
  
"And as for the original Avengers failing to save the world, I'd like to hear exactly _how_ they're expected to stop a superhumanly strong psychopath from setting off nuclear missiles _after_ he killed or mutilated half the team the first time he attacked them," Finnick added.  
  
"Oh, and on the topic of us not knowing about the past, you might want to talk with our tactical advisor once this is over," Peeta cut in, indicating the quinjet behind the assembled army with a smile. "Let's just say you'll be _very_ surprised to see him…"  
  
"In what-?" Denby began, only for the debate to suddenly be cut short when Octavia and Lexa walked out of the mountain, Fenris following them like a loyal puppy. Octavia looked over the entire assembled forces for a moment before her attention focused on the Arkers present.  
  
"Me?" She glanced over at the Avengers.  
  
"Pretty much certain people not liking your dad," Raven shrugged.  
  
"Right," Octavia said, glaring over at the Ark residents. "Firstly, it doesn't matter who my father is; that's not your problem." She turned back to the gathered Collation soldiers. "And it doesn't matter that we were fighting one another, or the fact that either side can't trust each other completely. That is still not our problem." She stepped to the side to indicate the mountain with a sweeping gesture. " _They_ are our true enemy and our true problem! They just murdered twenty-five people- a mixed group of both of our people and even some of their own- to make a goddamn _statement_! They want to show us they can do whatever the hell they want and not suffer the consequences, because we'll suffer for them. If we don't stop them now, if we don't end this now, then everyone you care or love will be taken from you, just like my brother! It's time to stop talking and _end this_ , once and for all!"  
  
"Exactly," Finnick affirmed, stepping forward with a resolute smile as he raised his trident above his head. "We are the new Avengers of a new world order, and the identity of Octavia's father should _not_ affect her willingness to fight alongside us against this new enemy! We are Earth's Mightiest Heroes, and we have come together at this time to face a threat that has decided we are nothing but cattle to them just because they don't like being stuck inside! If the daughter of the man who inspired the Avengers to come together chooses to stand with us, I say that we have only one course of action; she will fight alongside us as the newest of the Avengers!"  
  
"Precise-!" Peeta began.  
  
"Don't listen to them!" Denby cut him off, looking around the assembled army as though they were missing the point. "Her father was Loki! Put aside how he managed to get on our home and knock up some woman to give birth to her!" The bald headed guardsman had his gun held up, pointed at Octavia. "That psycho alien was a monster! He nearly enslaved us all! He probably helped sabotage the Ark! People we have lost over all these years could be because of him!" There were murmurs of agreement coming from the people from Camp Jaha, with Denby looking confident as he looked back to Octavia hatefully. "How could we ever really trust an alien like her when she's likely to stab us all in the back?"  
  
The girl in question simply walked towards him without a care in the world, practically daring him to fire on her. Johanna took a step forward, but Octavia discreetly waved her down with one hand even as she shot a grateful glance at the other girl for her attempt to show support.  
  
"Because if I wanted you dead, Denby, the moment I manifested any of my powers, I'd have killed you for what you did to me," Octavia responded, glancing around to take in the moment when the look of the crowd changed from following Denby's rage to straightforward curiosity, as well as the obvious shock on the older man's face at those words. "What? Did you really think I would have forgotten your face? Yours, as well as the faces of the other guards that welcomed me to the Skybox, when you all nearly beating me to death for the simple crime of existing?" She could hear the murmurs from all people when she spoke that. The look on Denby's face was all the evidence anyone needed to know she wasn't lying.  
  
"Don't believe a word this alien says," Denby said trying to defend himself. "You know the rules! Only one child per family! No exceptions! Those are the rules we had from the start!"  
  
"But does it say anywhere in those precious rules that you and your fellow guardsmen could curse my mother for giving birth to me instead of having me aborted in the womb? That you could curse her name and call her a whore in front of me, unable to do a thing?" Octavia returned. Having the opportunity to strike back at one of the people who had chosen to take their frustrations out on her during those early days of her imprisonment and had abused their power as guards of the prison facility, it felt cathartic to say the least. "That you all could laugh and proclaim how great it was that my mother got what she deserved, spaced out of an airlock to die a horrible death in the vacuum of space. That _I_ was the reason she was dead!"  
  
"Excuse me?" Johanna looked at the guards, hands tightening around Jarnbjorn.  
  
"You said that to a traumatised _kid_?" Raven practically spat.  
  
"But… she didn't even have a _choice_ in any of that!" Peeta yelled, actually raising his face-plate as he stomped over to look Denby directly in the eyes. "You can't seriously blame _her_ because her mother just decided _not to kill her_!"  
  
The Grounders, who did not understand everything that was spoken, had gathered enough to prompt them all to glare at Denby as if he was evil as the Maunon. There were even people who had come from the Ark that were looking at him in disgust.  
  
Denby shook his head in disbelief, but before he could say anything, two members of the Guard grabbed him, which surprised Octavia. Sergeant Miller came in front of him and pried his weapon out of his grasp.  
  
"Sarge!" he protested. "You can't possibly believe this alien over your own kind!"  
  
"She's only _half_ alien," Miller said, looking at his subordinate with a look of utter disgust. "And from where I'm standing, she's more of a human being than you are; as Iron Man said, whatever your own thoughts about her existence, you can't blame a _kid_ because her mother just decided not to have an abortion." He looked to the others. "Take him back to Camp Jaha, _in restraints_ , and throw his ass in the brig when you get there."  
  
"You're insane!" Denby snapped. "You're all insane!"  
  
"No, 'insane' is a man holding onto grudges when the people he's actually _mad_ at died years ago," Johanna put in, stepping forward and swinging her axe towards Denby's neck, pausing just as the blade touched the skin before she pulled it back and walked up to stare him directly in the face. "And an 'insane' person wouldn't have stopped that axe before it made contact."  
  
Miller nodded in silent agreement at Johanna before the two of them stepped back, leaving Denby to be taken away by another pair of guards.  
  
"The Mountain has dictated to us for far too long," Lexa cut in, raising her voice to speak to her people. "Their weapons have been greater than ours, but now we have something they do not: the Avengers. Many of you have questioned why we should allow these outsiders into our affairs, much as you asked why should we treat with Skaikru as allies." She looked pointedly at Octavia. "The Azurwicha has just shown us the reason why. She has proven her worth to us. She has broken down the door that has kept us from striking back our common enemy for so long. She made the Maunon we faced inside give us valuable information about their forces within. But most of all, they _fear_ her." She saw the look upon her people when she mentioned that the Mountain Men feared Octavia. That was as strong a response as any. "With the Azurwicha aiding us, our lost brothers and sisters will be avenged and those loved ones that are still held behind those walls can be freed. Today, we fight as one people. Today, the Mountain falls!"  
  
"Oso throu daun ogeda gon Maunon!" a Yujleda Grounder declared, getting some praise.  
  
"Azurwicha!" another Grounder, this one from the Trikru clan, said suddenly, the chant being swiftly picked up by the rest of the Coalition soldiers. "Azurwicha! Azurwicha! _Azurwicha_!"  
  
"Uh… liking the chant, but what does it mean?" Johanna looked uncertainly at the other Avengers.  
  
"It means 'the Witch of Ice'," Octavia said, having understood the meaning from the start.  
  
"Not bad, but how about we use 'Azure Witch' as your code name?" Johanna said.  
  
Octavia's smirk was all the answer needed.

* * *

Sergeant Jefferson arrived with his escort of four, hoping to get the doctor removed from her lab before Cage's plan went into effect.  
  
 _I cannot believe we're going to actually unleash that monster_ , he thought before walking into the lab. "Dr. Tsing, we need you to come with us, the president has ordered this floor to be evacuated."  
  
"I couldn't care less what Cage is planning."  
  
The escort guards looked at Tsing in shock, the doctor surprisingly unconcerned as she continued to furiously analyse almost indecipherable computer results. "It doesn't make sense. I ran simulations hundreds of times, I went through all of the notes on the weapon, none of them ever said anything about this. Granted, much was lost in the holocaust, but still…"  
  
"Doctor, what you are saying is nonsense!" Jefferson said, trying to forcibly remove the doctor from her workstation only to find guns pointed in his way by other guards in the room. He also noticed another pair of guards taking a box with them, leaving the room as if nothing was wrong. "What in the world is going?" the man asked in a horrified tone.  
  
"This is called making the best of a horrible situation," Tsing said in a detached tone. "The moment that Asgardian knocked down our front door, it certainly sealed our fates. Well, Cage's at least. We might be able to convince her to spare our lives, maybe even see our side of things. She may want intelligent life rather than the savages." She looked over to the section of her lab that held her restraint table. "Oh, I never thought unexpected results could be so fortuitous."  
  
Unexpected results he asked himself as he looked over to where the doctor was looking at he felt his heart stop. "But that can't—" He stuttered, trying to get the words out. "I was there. I saw what it did. There's no way..."  
  
"I know. It's absolutely frustrating," Lorelei stated and Jefferson could see that her tone was no longer detached but very much excited and that the look in her eyes was almost predatory. "And such an incredible discovery that it's why I sent guards carrying another crystal to another area. I've already had them round up another twenty Grounders place them in a confined space and then throw the crystal inside. I need to know if this a replicable result or if this was simply an anomaly."  
  
Jefferson felt dread, that the idea of simply sacrificing the natives they had captured so easily meant nothing to this woman. But looking at the guards around her and the prize in front of him, he knew why the others in this room had chosen through their lot in with the doctor.  
  
"What… do you need?" he asked uncertainly.  
  
"Protection and a little bit of peace and quiet while I run a few tests," Lorelai replied as she walked towards her subject with a syringe in hand, reaching out to pat his head tenderly. "If you could ensure those men I sent return with the results, that would be very much appreciated."  
  
Jefferson said nothing, only nodding as he took two of his men with him but hung back to look over his shoulder when he heard the doctor's voice. "Twenty-five people were left to die in that room, and they are all stone or dust now, but not you. No, you broke from your stone prison like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon. You are the biggest mystery I've ever had, so I must ask: _**What**_ are you Bellamy Blake?"  
  
The young man in question simply gave a look of defiance towards the woman, refusing to answer.  
  
"Oh well, I suppose we'll do this the old fashioned way," Tsing stated with all the warmth of an arctic wind. "I won't cause any permanent damage; I have no intention of sharing Cage's fate at the hands of a wrathful Asgardian sorceress. But as I have learned, discovery requires experimentation, and before I give you up I _will_ learn just how you survived."  
  
As he heard that statement, Jefferson wondered who the true monsters really were.


	33. In the Heart of the Mountain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to Katniss’s POV at last for this chapter

"How long shall we do this?" Anya looked impatiently at me as she looked at the door in frustration.

"As long as it takes," I said resolutely. I had no idea if anyone was still watching us outside this cell, but until we knew for a fact that the attack had begun, Clarke and I had agreed that we weren't going to break out of this room or give any indication of what we were truly capable of in case it put the mountain on the alert ahead of schedule. "You're a hunter; doesn't that include waiting for the prey?"

"True," Anya observed. "But that is when I am in the forests that I have knowledge of; when waiting in a nest like this, I am… not comfortable."

"I can get that," I nodded at her in understanding, remembering a couple of my more daring hunts before the games; prey like wolves had generally been avoided because of the risk if they'd caught my scent, but sometimes Gale and I had stumbled across a pack on the hunt and been left with no other option, forcing us to adapt our plans. "But this isn't like it was back then; you have the power, remember?"

Anya said nothing, but the gratitude in her eyes as she looked at me was enough to assure me that she appreciated my sympathy. It had been bad enough for me to end up dumped back in the Games a mere year after my first experience when Snow had called the Quarter Quell, and at least then I had the advantages that I'd won the last time and people there actually liked me in their own strange way.

She might be a new member of my team, but I still hated to think about how Anya must feel about having to come back somewhere where she had nearly been turned into a human blood-bag to benefit these people as though she wasn't worthy of human consideration. She might be a new Hulk, but she was still adjusting to the idea that she wasn't the same woman who'd been a prisoner the last time she'd been in this mountain.

" _A bold statement for someone in your position, Katniss_."

"Cage Wallace, right?" I turned to look at the window, wondering why the man sounded like he'd just been running. "I feel like I should say the same thing, considering that you're acting like you know me."

" _What's to know_?" the other man replied, his breathing quickly coming under control as though he'd calmed down from his earlier apparent race. " _You're all a bunch of savages who don't recognise our authority_ -"

"Which would be why you're panicking about the army outside your door?" Clarke grinned.

" _Actually, that is because some… woman… has shown up claiming to be the child of Loki_ ," Cage responded. " _It seems like your spy was her lover, considering her reaction to his death; I'm not saying I believe that she is who she says she is, but_ -"

" _Bellamy_?" Clarke cut him off, looking at the window with a new sense of horror. "You killed Bellamy?"

Thor cursed under his breath, and it wasn't hard for me to realise why; after the promises he'd made to help Octavia, the revelation that her brother had been killed wasn't going to help him make up for his past sins with the Ark.

" _Ah, so you_ do _know him_ ," Cage said, obviously satisfied at Clarke's reaction. " _Well, that makes everything much easier_ -"

"Hardly," I said, stepping in front of Clarke to look resolutely at the mirror that Cage had to be 'hiding' behind. "If you know anything about Loki, I think it's time to make you aware of exactly who you're dealing with here."

" _Who I'm_ …?" the man began, before he snorted out a laugh and the mirror suddenly changed into a standard window, revealing a man on the other side who looked like he was old enough to be my father, wearing a suit that looked surprisingly smart for a man who'd been stuck in a nuclear fallout shelter for his entire life compared to District Thirteen's more lax dress code. "Is that supposed to intimidate me? I know who you are; a few savages Clarke talked into coming here-!"

"Mr President," I cut him off, privately wondering what it said about my life that every president I'd met so far had been an absolute ass (I didn't count Taylor as I'd met her before her election), "allow me to introduce myself properly; I am Mockingjay, the leader of the Avengers."

"Avengers…" the man said, looking puzzled for a moment before his eyes widened incredulously. "That old story?"

"Story," I repeated, looking at him in a manner that I hoped conveyed the fact that I considered him an idiot. "You have the daughter of Loki breaking down your door and the Abomination trapped in your basement, and you think the _Avengers_ are a story?"

"How do you-?"

"We're not as limited as you think we are," Clarke grinned mockingly at the president of the mountain; I suddenly wondered if this man had dismissed the Avengers as a story because he couldn't understand why anyone would go to such lengths to try and defend the weak rather than rule them. "It turns out that you're not the only source of advanced technology to survive the nuclear holocaust; a lot of other people pulled through as well _without_ needing to kill other people to keep themselves alive."

"Granted, we made a lot of bad choices, got stuck in our own little area without even thinking about looking outwards, and ended up being ruled for almost a century by the deranged psychopath who destroyed the world in the first place, but the fact is that we survived," I put in, before my gaze narrowed as I stared at our new enemy. "And believe me, compared to the Maestro, you're not a serious threat in yourself, so if we were able to defeat him, you _might_ want to consider what we could do to you if we feel we have to."

"I… who…?" Cage began, before he shook his head and shot a violent glare in my direction. "Seriously, how can you be the _Avengers_? They were America's greatest heroes! True patriots to America and every one of-"

"Enough!"

Hearing Thor speak out loud for the first time since Wallace talked, I turned to look back at the Thunder God, privately surprised at the demeanour he was demonstrating right now. Even when he faced down the Maestro he hadn't shown this level of seething emotion, anger and disgust just bubbling at the surface waiting to come out. As he stood up, I, Clarke and Anya gave him a wide berth, even Anya recognising that staying close to him at this point was a bad move.

"Our title was _Earth's_ mightiest heroes, Cage Wallace," Thor said in a low, grave voice as he slowly began walking up to the window. "If you believe we only fought for this country, you understand little of our mission."

" _Our_ mission?" Cage repeated, looking mockingly at Thor. "And you're an expert on the Avengers, _Blake_?"

"I should be. I was there."

"…what?" Cage said, confidence thrown by the simplicity of the other man's statement.

"My name is not 'Blake'," Thor clarified as he stared resolutely at Cage, as though the barrier between them was simply non-existent. "I merely used the name as an alias, to honour my vow to my fallen love, Jane Foster, and to my niece, Octavia, who is the daughter of my brother Loki."

"B-brother!?" Cage stammered, eyes widening as understanding struck and yet he shook his head. "No, no you can't be…"

It was then that Thor smiled grimly. "Indeed. I am Thor, King of Asgard."

"And before you start asking where his hammer is," I added, enjoying the incredulous look on Cage's face as we dismantled everything he believed in, "I think it would have given the game away if you'd captured us and found that one of us was carrying a hammer none of your men could even move."

Cage had this deer in the headlights look about him, trying to deny what he was seeing before him, before his gaze settled on Thor. "Why? If you're the King of Asgard- if you're really Thor- then why-"

"Would I allow myself to be captured? Why would I obey the plan of someone else? Why would I oppose your perceived desire to get out of this mountain and resume existence? Why wouldn't I just smash my way through your doors?" Thor finished, staring coolly at the leader of Mount Weather. "Because I respect the leader of the Avengers when she says that she has a plan, even if you cannot understand that… and while I could crack this entire mountain open like an egg if I wanted to, that would simply kill everyone within it, and unlike you, I am _not_ a murderer."

"I- _what_?" Cage sputtered indignantly. "I am not a murderer! I am the President of the United States of Amer-"

"Sorry, but you don't have anything _near_ the amount of votes you'd need to call yourself that compared to how many people are actually living here," I cut him off.

"And not only have the vast majority of people not even heard of you and so couldn't have even _thought_ about voting for you, this country isn't actually called 'America' any more by anyone outside this mountain," Clarke added with a grin.

"Nor are you any kind of true leader of men," Thor continued, arms folded as he stared coldly at Cage. "True leaders not only stay true to their word, they protect those that come under their banners. They do not sacrifice or extinguish life with such callous disregard, nor do they enjoy the actual act as you have. Only tyrants take pleasure in oppressing others."

"I have done what is necessary for the salvation of the human race!" Cage exclaimed. "All of these sacrifices have been necessary for our ascension!"

"I have met many would be kings throughout my life Cage Wallace. You are by far the most pathetic of them all, in morals and standing," Thor said, disgust clear in every word he spoke as he stared at Wallace; I wasn't surprised to see his hands tightening on his arms, as though he had to fight to stop himself hitting the self-proclaimed president. "I chose to follow Mockingjay's plan, to try this peacefully. I even stayed Octavia's hand from attacking Mount Weather openly once she learned her own _brother_ was your prisoner. I swore to her that I would make sure he would survive this, but since you have killed Bellamy, you have made that just one more broken promise to my niece."

Cage took that revelation as well as he could, shaking his head as he looked overwhelmed, even starting to hyperventilate as Thor took up position mere inches from the glass that was the only thing separating them both.

"I still wish to avoid the carnage that will unfold," Thor said, relaxing his stance slightly as he stared at Cage. "I give you this one chance for mercy, Cage Wallace. Surrender unto me, and you will face justice on Asgard rather than be left to the tender mercies of my niece."

"I… you…" Cage began and for a moment I thought he might actually accept the offer, but his gaze was overwhelmed by the crazed look I had come to recognise when we confronted one of Snow's old strongholds, and found ourselves facing one of the Maestro's old loyalists who couldn't admit when he was cornered and wasn't actually fighting for anything any more.

"Give up and surrender to you?" the self-proclaimed president said, shaking his head with a projected sense of confidence that was only slightly undermined by the fear in his eyes. "Why should I? I have the authority here, and records of the Avengers made it clear you needed the hammer-"

"Thor is not the God of Hammers, Cage Wallace," Thor cut him off with a grim smile. "Mjolnir makes many things easier, but do not assume that I am helpless merely because I do not wield it at this moment."

"But this… you can't-"

"Keep using that word, 'Mr President'," Clarke countered mockingly. "I think you'll find it doesn't mean what you think it means anymore."

"Save for when you realise that you _can't_ defeat us," Thor finished, reinforcing Clarke's mocking grin with one of his own. "I have failed to aid your species in the past because I was in a dark place, Cage Wallace, and I will not claim to be perfect even if I am once again worthy, but I never slaughtered innocents and told myself it was in the name of some 'greater good'; you chose to consider human beings as things and truly believed you would get away with it?"

"Earth _needs_ us-!"

"The world does not need you as much as you believe it does," Thor affirmed in simple resolution. "But as long as you believe that it requires you alone to lead humanity, it _will_ require the services of its mightiest heroes once again."

"And… what are _you_ doing with them?" Cage turned his attention back to Clarke. "I thought you were smart enough not to go along with a few maniacs-"

"They're not 'maniacs'," Clarke corrected with a teasing grin. "As Thor said, they're Earth's Mightiest Heroes."

"But you're not-"

"Things have changed since we were last this close to each other, Cage," Clarke interrupted once again. "I've trained with some interesting weapons and some extremely skilled fighters since I left this mountain; I'm not going to deny that I still have a way to go to _really_ qualify for membership, but I'm making progress."

"And as for myself…" Anya added, smirking in satisfaction as she shrugged off her jacket to reveal her new uniform underneath it. "I believe I should inform you that you will not like me when I am angry."

"What can I say?" I grinned at the shaken Cage as Anya's skin turned green. "Anya here's been through an upgrade since the last time you saw her."

Cage staggered back, staring at the growing woman in horror before he slammed a hand on something in front of him. The glass returned to its mirrored state, but Anya swiftly stepped up to it and smashed it with a single blow, clearing away enough of the glass for the four of us to climb out of the examination room into a control room with a still-open door.

"He ran already?" I looked over at Clarke in surprise.

"Keep in mind he's fairly new to actually being in charge, considering that his father was president when Anya and I escaped; he's probably used to letting others do the hard stuff," Clarke pointed out as the four of us climbed through the broken window and into the main part of the mountain. "So how do we do this?"

"Thor takes point and Anya keeps guard at the rear," I nodded.

"You relegate me to-?"

"Secret weapon status," I cut the newest Hulk off mind-sentence, anticipating what Anya didn't like about that situation. "We don't want to provoke them into releasing the Abomination, and they'll _definitely_ bring him out to play once they know we have our own Hulk. From what I've seen of him, I'm hoping that Cage will be too panicked to think about taking the extreme option when he's still in denial about everything we told him, so it's best you stay normal to make sure we don't provoke anyone else to let him out until… well, the right moment."

"A fair point," Anya nodded at me as she returned to her normal appearance before we began to move through the facility. Even though we had just exposed ourselves to Cage, we didn't want to have to fight all of the mountain's forces in the halls. We worked to move with stealth, avoiding people where need be. We did have to deal with a roving guard, but between the four of us it was a rather brief moment; I'm not sure if Thor even realised that he had pushed the guard into the wall when he ran past the other man, and Anya never even reached the guard before Clarke and I had knocked him out with a dual punch.

"Which way should we be going?" Anya asked as we approached a set of stairs indicated by the facility's maps.

"Upwards and onwards I think," I said rounding around a corner only to be stopped by Clark who held out a hand, the expression on her face surprise as she seemed to be listening for something. "What is it?"

"If I didn't know better I'd think I was hearing… _Monty_!" Clarke suddenly yelled, pushing herself past me as she ran towards a half-open door. I had just begun to run after her when the door fully opened to reveal a young man with thick dark hair and a somewhat oriental appearance wearing a blue shirt, who gave Clarke an enthusiastic hug.  
  
"Clarke?" the young man pulled back from her in surprise, before he looked past her and saw the rest of our strike force. "Uh… why are you with-?"  
  
"She's on my team," Clarke clarified with a smile, before she shook her head and looked at me apologetically. "Sorry; I meant I'm on _her_ team."  
  
"You're pretty much a shoe-in for my second-in-command, Clarke; you can consider it your team too," I smiled at her before turning back to the young man. "Call me Mockingjay for the moment; you are?"  
  
"…Monty Green," the young man nodded uncertainly at me.  
  
"Hold on; _team_?" another young man said, this one notably thinner and slightly taller than Monty while wearing a green shirt, even if he had a fairly thick head of brown hair himself. "You mean that was _serious_? We've been stuck here for weeks trying to give these guys what they want without them trying to kill us for it, and you've just been… putting some team of Grounders together-?"  
  
"OK, firstly, I get that your first meetings with the Coalition didn't go well, but that's no excuse to act like you're completely innocent and they just attacked you because they felt like it," I cut the other man off. "Secondly, we're actually here to try and get everyone out of this mountain who didn't participate in acting like high-tech vampires to drain the blood of everyone outside this place because their leaders have serious egos and don't want to recognise when they aren't the big dog in the room, so if you were expecting us to just smash this place, that's _not_ happening."  
  
"That's… that's good," a young woman said, her short dark hair, pale skin and thin but fancy clothes marking her as a resident of the mountain, looking at us with a tentative smile.  
  
"And you are?" Thor asked.  
  
"Maya Vie," the girl replied, looking uncertainly between Clarke and the rest of us. "So… these are…?"  
  
"The Avengers," Clarke nodded at the girl, before looking at her with new curiosity. "What are you doing here? I mean, if Monty and Jasper trust you I'm willing to do the same, but why-?"  
  
"The President... he executed my father," Maya cut Clarke before she could finish the question, the new girl clearly struggling to deal with that particular twist. "Not just him, but a bunch of people that disagreed with his policies… and he killed them all with a biological weapon just to 'test it'."  
  
Clarke looked back at Monty and Jasper, but their subdued expressions said more than most words ever could.  
  
"We heard Bellamy's screams over the channel," Monty said before Clarke could ask the question.  
  
"Cage put the entire execution though the entire mountain just so we could hear the screams," Jasper added. "Just who does that?"  
  
"A man who relies on the power of fear," I said solemnly, before moving on to the next issue. "If you've been held here since Clarke got out, what have you heard about recent events?"  
  
"Well… we managed to tap into the radio to confirm that someone's broken down the main door keeping the people from outside from coming in," Maya said. "But I don't know what weapon could break down the blast doors."  
  
"It's not a weapon per say," Clarke responded, looking over towards Jasper and Monty. "It's Octavia. She's Loki's daughter."  
  
The look on their faces was certainly something to behold. "... you can't be serious..." Jasper muttered.  
  
"Your friend speaks the truth about my niece."  
  
"'Your niece'?" Monty asked.  
  
"I am Thor, King of Asgard."  
  
"Oh my God…" Jasper's eyes widened as he stared at Thor.  
  
"I doubt that I am your god in that context, Jasper Jordan, but I appreciate the sentiment nevertheless," Thor smiled at him before his gaze became more solemn. "I understand you have questions regarding Octavia but with our allies breaching the mountain, time is of the essence. Maya Vie, are there others here who oppose Cage Wallace's agenda?"  
  
"A few," Maya confirmed.  
  
"And don't forget the children," Clarke added.  
  
"Right," I nodded at her before turning back to Maya. "You need to get everyone you can down to the lowest level of this base and seal every door between you and the upper levels that you can."  
  
"Why?" Maya asked.  
  
"Because we will break the Mountain and kill those who have taken my people," Anya vowed, the skin around her eyes briefly flashing green.  
  
"And we'd rather _not_ take out innocent people while we're at it," I added, hoping Maya understood how important that was to me as I focused on her. "Can you do that?"  
  
"We can," Maya nodded, Monty and Jasper following her example.  
  
"Oh, and stay away from the maximum security area," I added as the new trio began to turn away. "If anyone lets the Abomination out, we're _really_ going to be in trouble."  
  
"The Abomination?" Jasper asked. "What's that?"  
  
"Hopefully you'll never have to learn the answer to that question," I said, grimly remembering the intensity of my debut as an Avenger as the Hulk battled the Maestro while Natasha and I watched from above.  
  
Whatever else I thought about Snow, with hindsight I could acknowledge that he could have done far more to us when we fought than 'just' crush Johanna's original arm; we'd likely only done as well as we had that early in our 'career' because he was worn down by fighting Bruce and didn't take us seriously enough until we'd delivered enough hits to put him off-balance.  
  
Forcing down my fear at the thought of how close that particular confrontation had been, I nodded briefly at Clarke's friends before I continued to lead the other three Avengers further into the mountain, leaving them to their own mission. Sticking to the stairs to avoid the potential trap of the lift, we advanced up to the next level, only to be met by a trio of guards pointing weapons at us as soon as we opened the door.  
  
"On your knees-!" the lead guard began, before I stepped forward, took the gun from his hands, and struck him in the face with the butt end of the weapon before he'd even managed to pull the trigger. The other two guards turned their weapons on me, but I had already adjusted the gun to use it as a club, striking the guard on the right in the head with my new weapon even as I kicked the third man between his legs.  
  
"Swift," Anya nodded at me in approval as I gave the third man a final kick to the head to ensure he stayed down.  
  
"I might focus on the shield and the bow as my primary weapons, but that doesn't mean I don't keep up with other combat skills," I said, assessing the gun for a moment before I slung it over my shoulder. "We should arm up; I don't _like_ guns, but considering that we don't have our usual weapons right now, we might as well improvise."  
  
"Or at least _we_ need to," Clarke observed even as she followed my cue and picked up one of the other guns before she glanced over at Thor and Anya. "I take it-"  
  
"I do not use guns," Anya said, her tone briefly reminding me of what Clarke had told us about her pre-mountain interactions with our new Hulk.  
  
"And I will be fine as I am," Thor smiled at me.  
  
"Right," I said, checking the ammo of my new weapon before I continued down the corridor, the rest of the team alongside me. When I heard footsteps from around the next corner, I deliberately slowed my pace so that Clarke would take the lead, the wingless Falcon swiftly taking down the two guards facing us before they could do more than raise their guns without even needing to fire her own.  
  
"Nice," I nodded at Clarke in approval.  
  
"Thanks," Clarke smiled at me as she looked at the fallen guards. "Guess I picked up more than I thought."  
  
"Such skill was always within you, Clarke Griffin," Thor nodded at our teammate with a smile before he glanced upwards as something shook the mountain above us. "Octavia is coming; we must move promptly before she does too much damage to this place."  
  
Nodding in understanding, the four of us continued to advance up through the base, but when we were still a few levels from the main entrance, we turned around a corner and I froze in horror at the sight waiting at the end of the latest corridor.  
  
Just like the Maestro when I fought him all those months ago, the individual before us was at least twice the size of a normal man with bulging muscles and a greenish tint to their skin, but where the Maestro had been a relatively vibrant green, this green was almost sickly, as though it was the green that someone had thrown up rather than the green of a new life. The impression of this creature being diseased in some way was further reinforced when I realised that I could actually see his skeleton sticking out of parts of his body, ranging from the obvious ribcage almost sticking out of his chest to the sharp bone spurs on his elbows and knees, and I was even fairly sure the knobs on his back were his spine.  
  
"And who are you?" the creature said, grinning as his gaze moved over the four of us in a manner that left me unsure if he was going to eat us or assault us in other ways.  
  
"Emil Blonsky, I take it?" I asked, fighting the urge to panic; I might not have my usual weapons, but even if I had prayed we wouldn't have to face this particular foe, I had stared down the Maestro and I was going to hold my ground here. "I think my colleague here would like to have a word with you."  
  
"Indeed," Anya said, stepping forwards and tossing her jacket to the side, flexing her shoulders with a firm grin. "Unless you prefer killing those who cannot challenge you?"  
  
"You think that _you_ are a challenge-?" Blonsky began, before Anya's skin turned green and her muscles bulged outwards, swiftly transforming into her She-Hulk appearance as she glared at Blonsky.  
  
"I do," Anya affirmed, before charging forwards to clash into Blonsky, sending him slamming into the wall behind him.  
  
"Keep him away from doors and don't let him get further up!" I yelled anxiously at my team's new powerhouse, hoping Anya wasn't too far gone to understand me. "We'll get the doors open!"  
  
Anya's affirming roar wasn't the clearest response, but it seemed that she understood what I wanted as she continued to deliver a powerful beating to Blonsky, keeping the former soldier off-balance as Clarke, Thor and I took another path into the mountain.  
  
I wasn't sure how Anya would compare to Blonsky long-term, but I had to hope that she was strong enough to hold her own while we dealt with business inside this place…


	34. The True Abomination

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was intending to go back to Katniss's POV full-time at this point, but I wanted to give everyone a chance to see what Anya and Octavia can do in their new states.

As Anya traded blows with the thing Mockingjay had called 'the Abomination', she was unsure if she should enjoy this fight as much as she was.

On one level, she understood that this creature was a dangerous being who threatened everything that she valued outside this mountain, and she had understood from the stories she had heard that this thing was a dangerous entity who had great power, but on another level, she would greatly enjoy the chance to test her new strength to its fullest extent. She had fought briefly with _Rockheda_ and enjoyed her spars with _Thunheda_ even if he chose not to use his hammer in those bouts, but it was something else to face a creature that had nothing more than raw power behind its fighting style. The Abomination appeared withered and frail as though from prolonged starvation, but he was still far larger than any human foe Anya had ever faced, skin hanging slightly on his bones even if his muscles were still at least as large as hers.

When he raised one hand as though to slam it down onto her head, Anya shifted her position so that one arm was directly above her head and the other was positioned to trap her opponent's wrist between her own arms, giving her a chance to take in her opponent's appearance in more depth. Recalling the tales that this man had been transformed by the same process that had changed her into her new state, Anya had to acknowledge that she could have been a great deal less fortunate than she was. Mid-way through a fight was never a good opportunity for someone to show off their appearance, but Anya could see that parts of the Abomination's skeleton had torn free of his skin, with spurs of bone sticking out of his elbows and knees, and she doubted that this man had been bald and had such hollow eyes before he was changed-

The sense of a sharp kick to her chest cut off Anya's examination as she was sent flying backwards. She only just had time to 'grab' the ground before she hit the end of the corridor behind her; she had no reason to believe anyone else was here, but she would adhere to her new leaders' request to minimize unnecessary damage.

"HOW!" the Abomination roared, glaring at Anya as she got back to her feet. "HOW CAN YOU BE THIS STRONG?"

"The blood I received from the man who was once Captain America and the heritage of my ancestors," Anya retorted, flexing her shoulders to work out the kink in her back as she studied her opponent with a nonchalant grin. "I believe you knew Bruce Banner?"

" _Banner_?" the creature looked at her with a new sense of rage. "He never-!"

"I am part of his family, and thus I bear his power in my veins," Anya affirmed (she realized that Steve and the other Avengers were only guessing at the origin of her power, but she chose to take that as truth until she knew otherwise). "You lost to my great ancestor when you were at your peak, Abomination; do you truly think-?"

" _That is_ _ **not**_ _my name_!" the Abomination yelled, lashing out once again with a punch that nearly took Anya's head off if she hadn't ducked to the side in time.

"It is the only name you deserve," Anya said with a cool stare. "You possess great strength and you only use it to destroy; destruction is just the simplest way to use power."

"And who taught you _that_?" Blonsky spat, tensing as he shifted into a combat stance.

" _Heda_ and the Avengers," Anya replied with a solemn smile.

"The Avengers?" Blonsky repeated incredulously, lowering his arms to stare at her incredulously. "But that's- those _failures_ were-"

"They live," Anya cut him off as she cracked her knuckles in preparation for the fight to continue. "And you are remembered as little more than the monster that tried to smash Harlem."

"I am the most powerful-!"

Anya cut her opponent off with a new punch to Blonsky's face, revelling in the sight of the arrogant monster falling back.

Whether or not she could stop this enemy, she would at the very least confirm what she was capable of to herself in this new state…

* * *

The thing that had worried Octavia the most when they originally came up with this plan of attack was whether she'd remember their plans for a 'protection point'. According to the other Avengers, Katniss and Clarke had each agreed that destroying Mount Weather's main door had to be a priority, but they also had to take care to keep some of the inner doors sealed so that the civilians and children in the mountain wouldn't just die off because the outside air leaked in.  
  
With that in mind, she was grateful that Johanna and Finnick had joined her small group of Grounders breaking into the mountain; the little girl who was apparently the new Black Widow had gone off to see about disabling a few more of this place's security systems, but while she got the impression she'd like Peeta as a person, Iron Man was better suited to hold the line outside where he could really let rip if he had to.  
  
 _Plus it's a lot harder for anyone to accidentally break down another door up there if they have to get past all of those sensors and guns of his_ …  
  
Surprisingly, Fenris was still able to accompany them. After seeing he would not fit through the door leading further into the Mountain's depths at his normal size, the large wolf had magically shrunk down to a size comparable to what one would expect of a more conventional animal. The decrease in size did not affect his strength or his will to protect her. So far they had gone down several levels and they hadn't met much resistance; what men they did end up fighting were taken down swiftly, though Fenris had been leaping first and tearing into whatever was in front of him.  
  
 _These guys must have heard my speech about everyone staying inside,_ Octavia noted, observing her new 'pet' with a slight smile. She wasn't entirely sure if she was comfortable with his brutal approach, but at least it ensured that nobody was going to get the drop on them any time soon.  
  
"And _down_ we go!" Johanna Mason grinned, the woman apparently known as 'Bloodaxe' slamming the broad end of her axe into the face of the next soldier to round the corner. Fenris growled slightly at the lost opportunity, but a firm glare from Octavia stopped him; she tolerated him attacking immediate enemies, but she wouldn't allow him to take bites out of the unconscious.  
  
"Any ideas on how deep this thing goes?" Finnick looked curiously at her.  
  
"You're asking me?" Octavia looked at him in surprise.  
  
"Just making sure we're covering all our bases," Finnick clarified. "Our last few operations were a bit more private then this; we're not used to dealing with this many people being caught in the middle of a fight when they aren't actively trying to kill us."  
  
"Say what you like about Snow, but the man knew how to inspire loyalty," Johanna shrugged as she slung her large axe over her shoulder. "We've been taking down his bases for months, and we're still not sure we've got them all-"  
  
"NO!" Octavia yelled, cutting Johanna off as she desperately lunged after Fenris, thrusting one hand forward as the wolf's jaws almost closed over a small figure that had stumbled before it could run around a corner up ahead.  
  
"What-?" Finnick began, only to stop himself when he realized that they were looking at a small, trembling child, looking at the large wolf that had almost eaten her with wide, terrified eyes.  
  
"What the _Hell_?" Johanna stared at the trembling girl before them incredulously.  
  
"We knew there'd be kids here-"  
  
"Yeah, but I didn't think we'd run into any this close to the surface; how desperate _are_ these people for living space?" Johanna clarified, before calming herself when she registered the sheer terror on the little girl's face.  
  
"Hey there, sweetie," Finnick said, passing his trident to Johanna as he crouched down to look at the girl with a warm smile. "What's wrong?"  
  
"…W-w-wolf…" the little girl said, her gaze shifting between Finnick and Fenris with wide-eyed terror.  
  
"Yeah, he's a wolf," Octavia put in, her solemn expression shifting to a soft smile as she joined Finnick in looking at the girl. "But it's OK; Fenris's _my_ wolf."  
  
"Y… your wolf?"  
  
"He won't hurt anyone if I tell him not to hurt anyone," Octavia said, tone soft as she reached out with one hand, even if she paused before she could actually touch the little girl. "I get that you're scared, and you've probably heard all kinds of… bad things about what it's like out there, but you have to believe this; we will _never_ hurt children, and neither will Fenris."  
  
"And," Finnick put in as he looked at the corner the girl had just come from, "we won't kill _anyone_ here who isn't actively trying to kill us first."  
  
Johanna's brief confusion about that particular statement was ended when two people came around the corner, the couple looking at the three outsiders and the giant wolf as though they weren't sure how to react.  
  
"Hi," Finnick smiled reassuringly at the new arrivals, slinging his trident over his shoulders to add to his air of nonchalance. "Like I said, you don't need to worry; unless you try to kill us, we're not going to do _anything_ to you."  
  
"You say that, but you are here now in our home," the man said, glaring over to Octavia and Fenris. "With a beast. Just move away from our daughter."  
  
Octavia motioned to Fenris move away but as the wolf was doing so. "Alright. It's like we've said. We aren't here to…"  
  
The sound of gunfire caused all to scatter, but for Octavia it had four rounds hit her straight in the chest, the shock of it causing her to drop backwards. The shots impacted against her armor but didn't pierce through.  
  
Even as her group started to react, a group of Mount Weather soldiers had come on the scene, four with weapons and two holding what appeared to be a Grounder captive.  
  
"Thank you! Thank you for showing when you did. These people," the mother began, only to to be hit in the head with the butt of the machine gun held by one of the new arrivals.  
  
"Stupid idiots! You were supposed to stay inside your rooms! This is a war, one we are going to win," the lead soldier responded.  
  
"Now you're resorting to harming your own people?" Octavia asked in disgust.  
  
"Everyone needs to serve a purpose for a much greater plan, just like the President and the Doctor have shown us," the fanatic responded as he pointed his gun at the little girl. "All one needs is the strength of will to do what is necessary-"  
  
"Hold on; you're talking about needing strength of will and you're going to shoot a _kid_?" Johanna glared indignantly at the guard.  
  
"If you're not monsters, you'll just surrender-"  
  
"And you don't see the flaw in that argument?" Finnick stared coldly at the guard, tightening his grip on his trident to prepare for whatever might happen. "You've spent years justifying what you're doing to the Coalition as protecting your people, but you're going to threaten the life of a little girl, in front of _her parents_ , to stop people who've already made it clear we're _not_ a threat to you?"  
  
"We have to-!"  
  
"Have to what, defend yourselves?" Octavia cut them off, clenching a fist as though trying to stop herself doing something out of anger. "We're working on a way to help you people that _doesn't_ involve condemning a bunch of innocents to death, we're perfectly willing to let you live so long as you're not trying to kill us first, and all of a sudden _we're_ the bad guys here?"  
  
"That's exactly the point!" the leader snapped, holding his gun at Octavia's head. "We've suffered! We've been in this mountain forever! We are the ones that deserve to live! Not you savages!" His face took on a crazed look. "In fact, just getting rid of you all should be worth the collateral damage…"  
  
Octavia didn't even have time to voice her disgust at that statement before the man had raised his weapon, followed by his associates, but the expected gunfire didn't come from the soldiers in front of them. Instead, the three Avengers found their latest opponents downed by gunfire from the side, the little girl running for her parents. The men holding the grounder girl swung in a different direction and pulled out their weapons only to hesitate and then let their weapons fall to the ground.  
  
Turning in the direction of the new wave of gunfire, Octavia watched as another group of Mount Weather personnel came into view, checking the fallen bodies as well as putting restraints on the two remaining hostiles. Even with Octavia's relatively limited direct experience of death, it was clear that only one of the fallen men who'd just been attacking her was still alive. He was looking up in disgust at his killers.  
  
"Damn you traitors," the dying gunman spat, blood coming out of his mouth, staring at one in particular with hate. "Damn you Jefferson. We… we could have ended this... the doc's weapon... we were so close... so…" he stopped speaking, his eyes glazed over as he stopped breathing.  
  
"It isn't worth selling out our humanity," Jefferson said simply, shaking his head as he stared at the body before looking up at the group around him. "Is everyone okay?"  
  
"Confused, but we're good," Johanna nodded.  
  
"And what are you doing anyway?" Finnick asked. "I mean, I'm not complaining, but when I last checked, you were meant to be 'defending' this mountain _against_ us, now you're just… letting us in?"  
  
"My men and I have chosen to defy our own orders. With Cage unleashing the Abomination and now the doctor conducting multiple tests with her weapon, it's going against everything we believe in as Americans."  
  
"Good in theory, but in practice, there is no America," Johanna observed. "That nation died when the bombs fell."  
  
There were angry stares levelled at her, not just from the soldiers but from the civilians in the hallway.  
  
"America isn't just a nation," Jefferson said grimly. "It's a people. We've all tried to strive for the ideals that nation was built under centuries ago… even if some have lost their way."  
  
"Yeah, we can get that," Finnick observed. "But what you need to keep in mind is that this team was brought together by the man who personifies the American Dream, and he's already accepted that America can't come back. He still stands for its ideals, but he's accepted that this is the time to make Panem what it should be, not try to force everyone else to go along with his vision of an old way of life."  
  
"Who are you talking about?" one of the soldiers asked.  
  
"Captain America," Johanna smiled. "And when I respect a guy, you _know_ he's got a lot going for him."  
  
They could hear the soldiers starting to converse with themselves about that little bit of news and it was spreading to the civilians who had ended up coming out as a result of the gunfire. Johanna could only imagine how such knowledge could play out, but anything that sowed even a few seeds of doubt among the Mountain Men had to be a good thing in this situation.  
  
"OK, getting off the topic of Cap, what did you mean the doctor was conducting _multiple_ tests with her weapon?" Octavia cut in; she was an Avenger now, which meant that she had to find out more about the immediate threat, which included the doctor and the weapon that had killed her brother.  
  
"That girl there," Jefferson said, indicating the grounder captive who was with Indra and the other two Grounders who had been part of their infiltration team. "She's the only survivor of the second test Doctor Tsing has run with those death crystals. Twenty or so natives died from exposure, but not her."  
  
"I thought Cage's speech said that this bio-weapon killed any living organism?" Johanna asked.  
  
"So did I," Jefferson nodded. "But when the President asked me to collect the doctor to keep her safe once he unleashed the Abomination, I saw your spy strapped to a table."  
  
Octavia's head spun directly to Jefferson. "What did you say?" she breathed.  
  
"I was there for that execution, part of guard detail for President Cage. I watched what happened to those people, they all turned to stone. Before I left one even crumbled into dust… so you can probably imagine my shock to find that spy somehow a flesh and blood human being again."  
  
"He's _alive_?" Octavia gasped, staring Jefferson with a frightening intensity. "My brother's alive?!"  
  
"Your… brother?"  
  
"Half; same mom, different dad," Johanna clarified nonchalantly. She would have said more but caught the glare Octavia just sent her, and decided to avoid sharing too many personal details too fast.  
  
Octavia walked up to Jefferson, allowing her right hand start showing her ability to generate cold. "If you are lying to me, I swear you'll wish I simply froze you solid."  
  
"Believe me, I would never lie about something like that," Jefferson returned, his tone showing no fear. "Family to me means everything, I would never toy with something like that."  
  
Octavia didn't feel like he was lying. Could she believe it? Could Bellamy truly be alive?  
  
Further conversation was cut short when the floor below them began to shake, with an irregular rhythmic pattern that was far too erratic to be natural.  
  
"The Hulks?" Octavia asked.  
  
"Technically only Anya's a _Hulk_ ; Blonsky's officially the Abomination," Finnick observed.  
  
"What's the difference?"  
  
"Basically the Hulks will only hit you if you started trying to hit them first, and the Abomination trashed an entire neighbourhood the first time he got out just because he felt like it."  
  
"…Right," Octavia nodded, making a note not to make that mistake against before she glanced over her available forces. "I don't think we want to leave that fight for too long, so Mariner and Bloodaxe can get down there to help She-Hulk out."  
  
"I can have half my men help you with the Abomination," Jefferson offered, "But the rest will need to come with me to Tsing's lab. She's still expecting her results from her latest test."  
  
"Yeah, I actually have an idea about that," Octavia said. "I need... sorry, what's your name?"  
  
"Echo," the grounder said in a short response.  
  
"Right, Echo," Octavia nodded. "I'm going to need to borrow your clothes."

* * *

"HA!" Blonsky roared gleefully as he hit Anya in the side of the head with a sweeping blow, with a force that would have sent anyone else flying into the wall if she hadn't possessed strength almost equal to her opponent. "You thought you could take _me_ down?"  
  
"I… am still… standing…" Anya said, fighting not to fall down as she glared at her enemy. The figure seemed to have become slightly more muscular than he had been when the battle began, but Anya refused to give in just because her opponent was stronger. "You… will not… win…"  
  
"If you're the best these 'Avengers' have to offer, I question what the rest of them can do to me," the large green figure chuckled. "Once you've been pounded into the ground like the insignificant speck that you are, I'll leave this prison and confirm what I am truly capable of; the world must learn what _true_ power is now that Banner has fallen-!"  
  
"NEVER!" Anya yelled, lashing out with a spinning kick that dislodged her opponent's jaw. Blonsky let out a twisted roar as he caught her next punch and threw her over his shoulder into the nearest wall, stamping down on her head as she hit the ground. Anya reached up to grab his leg, but the force was more than she expected.  
  
"I'm gonna crush your head like a grape, and then no one can challenge me! I am..." Blonsky's boast was interrupted by gun fire, which bounced right off of his gamma-hardened skin. "Are you kidding me? Did you fools forget that bullets just _piss me off_?!"  
  
Forgetting Anya, Blonsky ran in the direction of gunfire, which had come to a halt, only for a massive wolf to jump onto him, swiping and clawing at him.  
  
 _Fenris_? Anya asked herself, shaking her head to get past her blurred vision as she slowly got back to her feet.  
  
"What the hell is this?! Another freak experiment!" Blonsky asked as he pushed Fenris back so to kick the wolf with one of his legs. However that wasn't the real attack.  
  
Finnick and Johanna had taken advantage of the distractions of the guards and Fenris in order to attack with their weapons, cutting through Blonsky's skin at the ankles and back of his knees. Hitting those spots caused him to fall to his knees, allowing the guards to fire a chain piercing weapon that went through his shoulder, connecting the chain to the wall. It wouldn't hold for long, but it would be long enough to finish this with the right weapon…  
  
"Here," Johanna tossed the axe over to Anya. "Just for the moment, but I think you're better suited to take this guy out with this then I am."  
  
"Thank you," Anya said gratefully, adjusting her grip on the large axe as she glared at Blonsky.  
  
"You think this makes you better than me! You aren't!" Blonsky snarled, even as he tried to move to break free. "You didn't do this by yourself! You aren't stronger than me! You aren't stronger than the Hulk! I am! I am the strongest all by myself! I AM-"  
  
His last rant was interrupted by Anya's swing which decapitated him, the force of the swing had cleanly cut through his neck. The Abomination's head flew from his shoulders before Anya shifted her grip on the axe to ram it into the severed stump from above. The final blow didn't completely cut Blonsky's body in half, but his torso was clearly divided in a manner that it wouldn't be recovering from regardless of how good his healing factor was.  
  
"And I care _nothing_ for your opinion of my strength," she stated scornfully to the fallen form of her enemy. "In any battle, all that matters is victory."  
  
"Good call," Johanna nodded at the new She-Hulk as she took her axe back. "Nice job for your first day on the team, She-Hulk."  
  
"Thank you, Bloodaxe," Anya affirmed, surprised at the warm feeling of acknowledgement she felt at those words.  
  
"OK," Finnick looked around their small group, "shall we track down our missing associates and bring this mountain down?"  
  
"That seems a fair plan to me," Anya responded, flexing her shoulders as the group began to walk down the corridor into the mountain.  
  
Her new apparent teammates were an unconventional mix by any definition, but she was starting to become fond of this eccentric team that had taken her in as a member…


	35. Claims of Protection

The further we ran up the stairs inside the mountain, the harder it was for me to ignore my fears about what would happen as this situation continued. Anya and Octavia had assured me before this mission began that they weren't going to do any damage to the mountain that would compromise the innocent people in here, but when we were dealing with a large number of enemy forces I knew how easily mistakes could happen, and that was before the Abomination had entered the picture…

 _God, why did anyone think it was a good idea to let_ that _thing out of its box_? I found myself wondering. Snow might have been evil, but I had to give him a degree of credit for not simply using his 'Maestro' persona to tear through his enemies; the idea that anyone would have thought it was useful to let out a rampaging monster like the Abomination was just warped at best.

_At least it makes it easier for us to know who we should be siding with right now…_

"Hold on," Clarke said, holding up a hand as she studied a nearby door.

"What?" Thor asked.

"That door…" Clarke trailed off, taking in the corridor ahead of us for a moment before she nodded. "Of _course_ ; this way!"

"What is it?" I asked Clarke even as I followed her lead.

"When I was here the first time around, I was shown a map of the complex, remember?" Clarke explained. "Obviously they were keeping a few details from me, but coupled with what I remember of Bellamy's reports before he was captured, and I'm fairly sure the equipment they use to generate the acid fog is this way."

As we ran through the corridors, I heard a few faint thuds from above, but I pushed that thought aside, based on the frequency of the sounds, I assumed that they were the result of Anya fighting with the Abomination, so I had to hope that our new teammate was holding her own. After a few more turns and a couple of flights of stairs down, we were outside a locked metal door.

"Here," Clarke patted the door. "This is the way into their external environment controls; if we can get inside, we can shut down the acid fog machine."

"Are you sure we need to do this?" I asked. "I mean, Raven seemed to be making good progress hacking the system last time we spoke-"

"Which doesn't rule out the possibility of someone triggering the fog manually," Clarke cut me off. "We might be inside the mountain already, but it doesn't hurt to make sure that these people can't deploy their main weapon against us all over again. After all, they just need to keep wearing their protective suits and they're fine; I'm not sure any of us have… well, 'immunity to poison' as an ability."

"Anya and Thor are a possible, and Finnick's suit has its own air supply if we're just dealing with a toxin, but I get your point," I nodded at her, studying the equipment for a moment before I made my decision. "Thor, just to cover all our options, you said you can channel lightning without Mjolnir, right?"

"With more effort and less easily focused than when I wield the hammer, but yes," Thor nodded. "Should I-?"

"It's something to consider, but if we set off an explosion of toxic gas inside this place, we might start a bigger explosion than we're ready to cope with," I cut him off, once again grateful for Steve's tactical instruction since we'd become an official team. "Our best chance is to find some way to neutralise the equipment directly without risking releasing the gas, which means it's time to bring in our science division."

"Science division?" Clarke repeated, before her eyes widened in understanding. "Raven?"

"Peeta's working on his experiences in that area himself, but it doesn't hurt to bring in an expert," I observed. "From what you've told us about Raven, she could be an asset to put everything together here."

"What about… Beetee?" Thor asked. "I have heard that he is good with technology-"

"And he's also older and took a few knocks over the years; it's safer to keep him in a more removed supervisory position where he can do work in our base than take him into the field where he could get hurt," I explained. "If we can get Raven in, she might be able to take a look at this stuff and work out some way to trap the gas for the fog in the machinery before we dispose of it."

I briefly wondered if it had been worth creating my original plan, considering how often we were having to improvise now that we were here, but pushed that thought aside; the original plan had still managed to get us through the door, so the fact that we had a few other hurdles to deal with was just an example of my ability to improvise.

"That… sounds good," Clarke nodded tentatively. "If we can disarm the mountain, we might have a stronger bargaining position to talk some sense into these people…"

"Exactly," I nodded at Clarke. "We make sure that the people here don't have the means necessary to keep trying to kill us, and then we can focus on getting everything important out before we have to start working out who the Coalition needs to judge."

"Wait a- who they 'need' to judge?" Clarke repeated, looking sharply at me. "You're judging _people_ as something with _value_ -?"

"Look, even if some of the people here are… well, stuck in a bad situation, that doesn't change the fact that there are people here who have no problem treating human beings like cattle," I explained. "Like I've already told you, we're not going to kill everyone here, but we have to face facts that some people here… well, at least some of the Coalition aren't going to be particularly happy if we just give the entire mountain a 'Get Out of Jail Free' card."

"…Point," Clarke nodded tentatively, looking at me with a sad little smile. "I guess we can't just… save everyone, can we?"

"At least we can try to save _anyone_ these days," I replied, even as I acknowledged her tentative smile with my own. "Believe me, if you'd landed here during the Games, Snow's only priority would have been to force some of you to act as Tributes if he didn't just kill you all so that he could claim your technology for himself, and I'm not sure how he'd have reacted to the Coalition…"

"Wouldn't he have known about them already?" Clarke asked.

"Doubtful," Thor observed grimly. "Obviously we cannot know how Snow operated, but the area where the Coalition has formed was struck by several bombs during the wars the Maestro initiated; it is frankly remarkable that any survived long enough to breed, and from what I have seen, Snow had little interest in exploring this area before his defeat."

"Which at least explains why he never came to this mountain to deal with the Abomination," I observed, indicating the upper level where we'd heard the fighting earlier. "I can't see him tolerating the continued existence of someone who could actually hold their own against him in a fight."

"True," Thor said, before he studied the corridor around us with a cold stare of contempt. "There has been far too much death here; the innocents must be saved, but after that…"

"Once we get the innocents to safety," Clarke affirmed.

"Can we do that?" I looked curiously at the new Falcon; I might like to hope for the best, but after I'd spent so much time willing to die for Peeta in the Quarter Quell, Steve had made a point of teaching me to consider all the angles to get my desired outcome rather than just fixate on one goal without thinking it through. "I mean, you said that these people couldn't leave the mountain because even the normal background radiation would be dangerous to them; I get that you have _some_ medical experience, but that seems-"

"It would not be a problem if we were able to _bypass_ the exterior," Thor observed.

"What?" Clarke and I looked at Thor in surprise.

"The Bifrost," Thor explained. "I spent some time conferring with Heimdell while Octavia was being examined back in Asgard, and it may be possible for him to create a Bifrost that would transfer anyone from an interior area, such as this mountain, directly to a contained area in Asgard, so long as we have no external threats to deal with at that time."

"Which would allow your people to… treat them?" Clarke asked tentatively. "I mean, you could… make them immune to the radiation?"

"It will take time, but it should be possible," Thor nodded.

"That's…" Clarke began tentatively, before she sighed solemnly. "We'll need to make a choice."

"Choice?" I asked, looking probingly at our team medic.

"We can't…" Clarke began awkwardly. "It's just… you've seen how the Coalition treat the guilty; we can't just… let the entire population of Mount Weather out and act as though they've all been forgiven for their sins."

"They'd kill the children?" I asked, suddenly concerned about the morality of the people we'd made an alliance with.

"I don't think they'd go _that_ far, and I want to believe we can make a case to spare _some_ of the adults as well, but if we just give them _all_ a blanket pardon…"

"I get it," I nodded, trying not to think about the challenges we'd all faced coming up with a satisfactory 'peace treaty' with Snow's government after his death that would have allowed everyone wronged by the Capitol to feel satisfied with our terms.

"We should move on," Thor said. "We can discuss this in depth later, but we do not wish to be cornered before we have the chance to make our offer."

"Agreed," I nodded, walking along the corridor even as I reached up to my ear to tap my comlink. "Iron Man, this is Mockingjay; status?"

" _It's all stable out here_ ," Peeta replied. " _What's happening in there_?"

"We've got these guys on the run, and we have a few ideas for how to keep these people on the run, but we're going to need assistance with a few technical matters," I explained. "I've been conferring with Clarke, and she has a few ideas about how we can ensure we don't have any other surprises, but she suggested that it might be a good idea if you bring Raven in here via the dam tunnels."

" _Dam tunnels_?"

"Clarke and Anya used them to get out of the mountain during their original escape, remember?" I answered. "It's difficult for anyone else to get to that door from the outside, but that dam door is some distance up from the ground and at best, everyone in the mountain would probably still be adjusting to the idea that we have anyone who can fly; you should be able to use that door to get Raven inside and take her where we need her."

" _Which is_?"

"Talk to Clarke and she'll give you directions," I explained. "Right now, I need to talk to the Commander."

" _The Commander_?"

"We have to straighten out a few details regarding the treatment of future prisoners."

I waited for a few moments, the sounds of an earpiece being moved around on the other end, before I heard a new voice. " _Yes_?"

"Commander?" I asked. "This is Mockingjay, of the Avengers; we have plans for the residents of Mount Weather, but I need to talk to you before we do any more."

" _In what way_?"

"In the sense that we need to know that you won't just have them all killed if we bring anyone else out of this mountain."

" _They have killed us_ -"

"And if you start arguing that you get to kill them because they've been killing you, you just open yourself up to a cycle of killing each other until everyone's dead," I cut her off, hoping that she'd see that as a sign of strength rather than disrespect as I stopped walking to better focus on my words. "We're not going to deny that _some_ of them deserve to die, but are you really going to kill children who never did anything more than be born inside this mountain?"

As Clarke and Thor moved in to stand on either side of me, Lexa's silence after that question was enough of an answer for me, and it made me impossibly relieved.

"We're not going to deny that there are soldiers and scientists in this mountain who deserve to be punished, but there are also families who tried to reject anything that would force others to suffer for their own sake, and children who haven't ever had the ability to make any kind of choice about what their parents are doing here," I continued, recalling all of Steve's lessons about maintaining control. "We'll do what we can to identify some of the guards and doctors for you to actually charge for the crimes this mountain has committed against your people, but if you're going to work with the Avengers, you need to recognise that there are lines that we won't cross."

" _And this is conditional for our future association_?" Lexa asked. " _When Anya has already agreed to join you_?"

"If she can't agree with this view, she's welcome to leave the team," I affirmed. "This is a request, not an ultimatum; if your people can't agree to this rule, then you'll still get the truly guilty to judge as you see fit, but the Avengers and I will take the rest of the mountain's residents into protective custody and leave the Coalition in peace unless you give us a reason not to."

" _I… understand_ ," Lexa said, a tone in her voice as though she was unused to conceding anything. " _I will… keep that in mind_."

"Not enough," I said firmly. "You need to acknowledge that this is how things stand; I'm not going to take this any further if you're going to go back on your word."

" _You are a stubborn woman, Mockingjay_ ," Lexa observed, and I was sure she would have a wry smile on her face if I saw her now. " _I concede to your request; so long as a… suitable number of guards and scientists are provided for my people to punish for the sins of the Maunon, I will convince the ambassadors to be… content with your suggested legislation_."

"Thank you," I replied, before I terminated the call and looked over at Clarke, who had just apparently just finished her talk with Peeta. "All good?"

"He's been given instructions on where the fog generator is, and Raven sounds keen on the idea of seeing the armour in action up-close; I think they'll be fine," Clarke smiled at me. "So what now?"

"We track down the others and then try and find the rest of your people in here," I decided. "Your associates should be able to help us find those we actually want to save from this place; if we can get them all in one room, I assume you can get them to Asgard?"

"Heimdell is watching and awaits only my signal," Thor nodded at me.

"Let's move," I indicated the corridor ahead. "We should try and find Anya and the others first; if we're going to get these people to safety, we need to be sure nobody's going to do anything stupid like-"

"Keep trying to fight us?" a voice I recognised as Cage Wallace said, before the president in question walked around the corner to glare at me.

I strongly doubted that this man could do anything to me if it came down to a fight, but I had to confess that a part of me was interested in hearing what the self-proclaimed President had to say for himself right now…


	36. Blakes Reunited

As another needle was plunged into his arm, Bellamy fought down the urge to voice his agony; he still didn't understand what exactly Doctor Tsing was looking for, but if she was doing this out of some twisted sense of sadistic pleasure, he wasn't going to give her anything. Glancing around the lab, he supposed that he could at least appreciate that they'd cleared out whatever was left of the bodies of his past 'cellmates' before they started on him now, but when these pricks were literally _cutting his arm with a scalpel_ …

"Subject does not show any signs of healing injury, unlike injuries noted before exposed to the gas from the shattered crystals," Tsing noted in a casually curious tone that made it impossible for Bellamy to feel any sense of gratitude for her. "Could be the process resets the body to a default setting, to be primed for some purpose…"

"We could break the spy's legs, see if he heals from that," one of the guards sneered, only to see her glare directed at him. "Sorry, ma'am."

"Why do you care?" Bellamy glared back at Tsing; if they'd left him the ability to talk, he was going to assume that she didn't mind if he responded to whatever they were saying about him. "You didn't care about my wellbeing earlier. What changed?"

"I have a vested interest in my own survival," the doctor said, coldly detached. "For reasons unknown, the Asgardian cares about you, and if she were to come upon you in my care in a significantly damaged condition, her emotional state could have her lash out at me before thinking."

"As Asgardian? Why would Thor care about-?" Bellamy stopped himself as he caught what Tsing had said. "Her? Who's her?"

"Loki's daughter. You must be her lover; why else would she state you are the only one she cares about?" Tsing responded, only to pause as she took in Bellamy's confused expression. "And yet you have no idea what I am talking about, do you?"

Bellamy suddenly had no idea how he should respond. The honest answer was obviously that he'd never even _been_ to Asgard and certainly had no idea why anyone from Thor's homeworld (or whatever Asgard was) would be interested in him, but at the same time, he didn't exactly want to give away that he had no idea what these people were talking about…

"Open the door!" a voice called from outside the lab, saving Bellamy from having to answer a question he didn't understand.

"Jefferson?" one of the guards said, looking at the door in surprise. "What is it?"

"See for yourself," the voice on the other side said. One of the guards opened the door to reveal three new guards outside the room, one of them in the lead while the other two were holding a young woman between them.

"Is that all that managed to survive?" Tsing asked.

"Did you really expect more?" the man who was apparently Jefferson countered.

"I hoped for more test subjects to understand why so few actually survive the gas." Tsing stated, before she shook her head in resignation. "It is what it is. Place her on the opposite table. I'm actually looking forward to dissection with this one. A savage that doesn't matter."

The guards had only just moved forward to take hold of the prisoner when the restraints around her arms shattered, leaving her to grab the guns of the two nearest guards and freeze them solid. Before anyone else could react, two large shared of ice had formed in the prisoner's hands and she hurled them at the other two guards in the back, piercing their shoulders as the sheer cold forced them to their knees.

"Really?" the prisoner said, raising her head with a bitter edge to her voice. "You're a doctor? Whatever happened to that 'do no harm' thing Clarke's always trying to make a big thing about?"

" _O_?" Bellamy stared incredulously at the sight of his sister standing in the middle of the room, wearing the clothing of a grounder. He'd probably think about wondering what she was thinking pulling a stunt like this, even if it was to rescue him. There were two things about his sister he couldn't stop staring at: her normally green eyes were now a dark shade of red, and in her right hand, Octavia _created_ a dagger made of ice. A quick glance around confirmed that Tsing was also shocked, but this seemed to be more because the remaining guards around Octavia were pointing their own guns at Tsing's group.

Unfortunately, whatever moment of shock Tsing had felt at this turn of events wasn't enough to stop her holding a scalpel to Bellamy's throat and glaring disdainfully at the new group of guards.

"May I ask what prompted this particular choice, Sergeant Jefferson?" the doctor asked coolly.

"Let's just say that we aren't comfortable being as morally bankrupt and unethical as you and Cage, Dr. Tsing," the guard who was apparently named Jefferson replied.

"My actions have been absolutely justified in the name of preserving civilized society to the horrors outside of the mountain," Tsing returned, a small tremble in her voice; clearly this wasn't a scenario she ever expected to find herself facing. "You know what we have endured; what countless generations-"

A frozen dagger flew right past Tsing's head, impeding itself into the wall.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not interested in your back story," Octavia replied, and Bellamy watched as his little sister formed another ice dagger in her hand. "Nor am I interested at the moment in debating who had the moral high ground. You have my brother. Release him or I will kill you. It's that simple."

"No."

"Excuse me?" Octavia raised an eyebrow at the doctor.

"No," Tsing repeated. "Actually, I think you're going to kill those guards on your side of the room."

"And why should I do that?"

"Because if you don't, I _will_ slit your brother's throat."

"And then I'll stab you in the head-"

"And you'll have failed to save your brother, which I doubt you'll be able to live with causing _yourself_ after your last little riot."

"You know what my father was capable of, and you're trying to blackmail me?"

"And I'm expected to believe that reports of your reaction to believing this man was dead was just an exaggeration?"

Bellamy didn't understand why his sister was going along with this whole Loki's daughter thing- when they had played Avengers in the past, she had always preferred Black Widow or Iron Man- but at the moment, after everything they'd been through since coming to Earth, he just wanted to be able to actually _do_ something to stop what they'd been up against… he wanted to feel like he was able to _do_ something rather than just scrambling to stay in one place…

He didn't even realise what was happening before fire erupted from inside his body, burning through his restraints before it practically leapt onto Doctor Tsing as she brandished the blade at his neck. The doctor screamed in pain as the fires reached her face and she let go of the scalpel, dropping to the ground and rolling in effort to smother it.

"What the-?" one of the guards said.

"Lower your weapons!" Octavia yelled urgently as she glanced around at the rest of her guards, who had all turned their weapons to point at Bellamy. As she watched, her previously-captured brother lowered his arms and the flames receded, his clothes with smouldering holes all over and faint burns visible under his sleeves. Bellamy rolled up his sleeves to reveal that the burns were fading even as the guards and Octavia watched, before he turned to look uncertainly at Octavia.

"O…?" he began, before Octavia walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him, a reassuring smile on her face.

"I'm glad you're OK," she said as she stepped back to look properly at her brother, before indicating the last fading few burns on his hands. "But that doesn't mean I don't have a _few_ questions about when you became a living bonfire."

"I could ask you the same thing about when you turned into a walking freezer," Bellamy responded, looking at his sister with a curious half-smile. "You couldn't do that before. Was that something Thor taught you up in Asgard?"

"That's a long and complicated story, one I want to tell you but definitely shouldn't be in a mad scientist's lab."

"Yeah, it has to be better than the bullshit the doctor was saying about you being Loki's daughter," Bellamy said with a laugh, only for that laugh to quickly die down when he took in the expression on not only her face, but that of the guards that were on their side.

"You can't…?" he began tentatively. "I mean, that isn't... how does that even...?"

"Like I said, it's complicated and something I'd rather talk about out of here," Octavia stated.

Whatever else she would have said was cut off by the unstable laughter they heard from the back of the room. Turning to look at the source, the Blakes and their assembled guards realised that Tsing was now standing, one arm badly burned and the same side of her face horribly twisted to the extent that one eye seemed basically blind, but she was still standing.

"Murderers all over…" the woman glared at the Blakes. "Just like your father…"

"First of all, Loki's only _my_ dad," Octavia glared as held up a hand, ready to generate ice a moment notice. "And secondly, start trying to insult us when you actually have the moral high ground, you bitch."

"Loki killed civilised people; I only ever killed those who are too primitive-"

"Doctor, you're in no shape for an ethical debate right now," Jefferson cut her off. "We can get you medical attention; you just have to surrender to the Avengers-"

"Surrender?" the doctor countered, a manic gleam in her eyes as she got back to her feet. "And why should I want help? To remain as primitive as you and your new 'allies'? Strength is required to evolve, and if we are going to survive and conquer the outside world, we _need_ to evolve…"

"To hell with this," a guard muttered, raising his gun towards the woman, only to halt as he realised what the doctor had gathered into her hands during her brief period on the floor.

"Mr. Blake has shown that those who survive the crystal's test will emerge a new form of humanity, infinitely better than the rest," Tsing said, making her way to a console and rapidly typing with her uninured hand, holding the crystals with the other as a subtle threat against any potential attacks; most of those in the room knew that one shattered crystal would release the gas, and Octavia had seen enough to realise that doing more would be a bad move. "A shame I couldn't isolate what makes him so special, to make the survival rate higher... but those that survive will make up the difference in quantity with quality."

"What are you talking about?" Octavia asked, generating ice in her palms.

"Decades ago, a failsafe was installed throughout Mount Weather," Tsing explained as she finished typing. "If we were ever to be overtaken by hostile forces, we would insure that our conquerors wouldn't live to enjoy their victory."

The mood in the room had become very quiet and subdued. Jefferson was already motioning to his men to slowly pull back out of the room while he kept a gun on Tsing.

"Shut it down," the guard said bluntly.

"The commands have already been executed," Tsing replied, a mad smile on her lips. "Even if I wanted to, I can't stop the process. Within the hour the crystals inside the containers throughout the mountain will be destroyed. The released gas will then be pumped through the ventilation system. I'd estimate less ten percent of the people within the mountain will survive exposure but those that do will inherit this world."

"You're insane," Octavia breathed. Every action she had seen the doctor take since she walked into the room just proved that.

"I'm far from insane," Tsing said, standing up right, holding the crystals in both hands over head. "I am the future."

With those grim words, she threw the crystals to the ground, gas erupting from the shining rocks as soon as they hit the ground. Octavia thrust out one hand to erect a wall of ice between her allies and Tsing's side of the room, but even as the ice rose up to divide the room she could see how Tsing's skin was calcifying and turning to rock, along with the two of her guards still on Tsing's side of the ice wall. Octavia's face twisted uncomfortably at the notion of what she was doing, but she shook her head and forced that thought down; there was literally nothing else should do but protect her allies right now.

"Please tell me that gas is contained," one of the guards said.

"If you aren't turning to stone now, I think we're fine," Bellamy replied. "I have personal experience with this."

"Makes me wonder about that Grounder that survived. Is she going to have powers or are you the exception to the rule?" Jefferson mused.

"Someone else survived?" Bellamy asked.

"A girl named Echo. I'm actually wearing her clothes. Couldn't just walk in here with my armor and pull off our sneak attack," Octavia responded.

"You have armor?"

"Before you continue on with this reunion, may I remind you of our ticking time bomb, thanks to the late doctor," Jefferson began before turning his attention to the two guards Tsing had that weren't on the other side of the door. His men had their guns on them. "I hope you both understand how dire things are. So you can either help or we can restrain you and leave you here. Your choice."

The two men looked over each other before nodding, one of them taking a hard drive out of his pocket and holding it out to Octavia.

"The doctor was using this to store her data off the main system; she'd plug it in and update it when she had to work and leave it with someone else when she wasn't using it so somebody else couldn't get at her research," the man explained. "She said she'd found the solution to letting us all go outside…"

"We're exploring alternatives," Octavia cut in, looking coolly at the guards. "But if you think you can still use people as cattle… well, Mockingjay and the Falcon are going to have _words_ with your people, and that's before you start worrying about what She-Hulk or Bloodaxe will do to you."

Octavia winced and shook her head. "That came out wrong; the Avengers are going to be angry at the people who took part in these experiments… but if you help us now, we _will_ help you in return if we can."

"And we… well, I'm sure we'll be able to use this," Bellamy confirmed, taking the hard drive from the guard before passing it on to his sister. "You'd better take this; you're the official Avenger, after all."

"Thanks," Octavia smiled back at him, slipping the drive into a pocket on the inside of her coat as Tsing's former guards nodded at her in tentative acceptance.

"OK," Bellamy said, shooting a curious look at his sister, "not meaning to sound negative after we got that extra bit of data, but this still doesn't solve the problem of stopping those gas bombs she mentioned going off all over the mountain."

"Which is why we're going to need to call in our technical expert," Octavia said, raising her left hand to her ear. "Hey, Iron Man? You may want to update Raven that things just got complicated in here."


	37. Confronting President Cage

"Cage," I said, shaking my head at him in frustration, "can we just get over this already?"

"And let you destroy us?" Cage countered.

"Firstly, we're only trying to 'destroy' you after you've spent the last few days treating our new allies as little better than cattle, and secondly we aren't even trying to do _that_ ; we'd be perfectly willing to let you live if you weren't trying to do it all on your terms."

"So it's your way or the high way?" Cage glared. "Like all savages, you act like you're the only ones who have the right to control a situation-"

"Are you even aware that the fighting above us has stopped?" I cut the other man off, indicating the ceiling above us. "As in, the _Abomination_ has been stopped?"

"It could be your She-Hulk-"

"Not likely," Clarke said, smirking at Cage in satisfaction. "The Abomination is a ruthless psychotic of considerable physical power; if he had beaten Anya, he'd be tearing through this place to take down the rest of us."

"Emil Blonsky is _our_ weapon-"

"You've been using him as basically a battery for God knows how many years; do you honestly think he'd fight for _you_?" I cut Cage off. "You let him off the leash and you should just be grateful that we stopped him now; you could never have relied on him."

"It would have worked-!"

"You know what your problem is, Cage?" I cut in once again, enjoying seeing this man so off-guard; when I'd never had the chance to give this kind of speech to Snow, it was refreshing to be able to tell another president what I thought of them. "You're too fixated on the idea that it's your way or the high way."

"Like you aren't doing the same?" Cage retorted.

"Hardly," I replied, looking coldly at the self-proclaimed president. "If you'd just _asked_ us for help, the Panem government might have been willing to give it to you, but when you decided that your lives were more 'important' than other people, you made yourself my enemy."

"They're savages-!"

"They're _people_ ," I interjected firmly. "Just because they survived without your resources doesn't mean they're primitive; it just proves they're strong."

"For killing each other-?"

"They became a culture of warriors to overcome a devastating event; that doesn't make them primitive," I cut Cage off. "The man I respect more than any other fought a war against the kind of attitude that would reduce other human beings to things because it was easier to justify their atrocities that way; acting like you can lump a whole group of people together as your inferiors is _not_ going to make us think of you as the 'good guys' in this situation."

"And who was that man?" Wallace asked.

"History knows him as Captain America."

I enjoyed the shocked look on Wallace's face when I said those words.

"Ca… Captain America's _alive_?" the 'President' of Mount Weather said incredulously.

"Had a couple of tricky moments on the way, but he got here in the end," I smiled briefly before assuming a more serious glare. "And he chose me to lead this new team of Avengers because he knew that I would always act to save lives."

"That's just what I'm doing-!"

"You're saving some by killing others; that's not what the Avengers are about, Cage," I cut him off. "The team might have started in America, but that's just chance; they were known as _Earth's_ Mightiest Heroes for a reason, and it's not just because it sounded good. They don't just fight to protect America; they're fighting for _humanity_ , and you're the ones who decided to kill other people for your own benefit."

"We were trying to protect ourselves-!"

"Operating on the philosophy that you know better than everyone else, and you know who adopts that kind of rigid 'I know what's best' attitude?" I countered. "People like HYDRA."

"We are _nothing_ like HYDRA-"

"You kill those who you perceive as inferior; in what way does that not sound like HYDRA?" Thor observed. "I adopted a similar philosophy once upon a time, but what you must realise is that you cannot judge an entire race for the sins that they may have committed in the past. You have succumbed to the idea that you are 'superior' in some way, but that does not excuse your sins."

"We just wanted to live free; the ground is our _birthright_ -!"

"If I learned anything from trying to rebuild Panem, it's that survival on its own isn't enough, but you have to be worthy of survival," I cut him off with a solemn stare. "I'm not saying that we haven't made mistakes, but with a few exceptions most of us only tried to kill each other because we were trapped in a system where it was kill or be killed; you decided to designate an entire group of people as 'inferior' just because it's _easier_ that way."

"We have a right-!"

"Like Mockingjay said, you lost that right when you stopped thinking of an entire group of people as things just because it was easier for you that way," Clarke cut him off, looking at the president in exasperation. "Just count yourself lucky that we're trying to be the better party here; unlike you, we're not going to act as though we have the right to arbitrarily judge _all_ of your people as monsters…"

"What?" Cage looked at Clarke in shock. "But-"

"And that's your problem; you can't acknowledge that there's a middle line between condemning everyone for the crimes of their people and letting some parties off if they didn't have _that_ much of a role in what was going on here," I said. "I already forgave one group of people for the crimes of their leaders because they didn't deserve to be punished for it; you might be an elitist monster who killed people, but that doesn't mean your people deserve to die."

"Then… then we can help you-?" Cage began.

" _You_ are not wanted," I cut him off resolutely. "And besides, if you think we're going to keep any _thing_ from this mountain intact, you're even more deluded than I thought you were; maybe you've got a few interesting relics lying around, but Cap's told me enough about what happened with HYDRA to confirm that we're _not_ going to keep any of your scientists around."

Privately, I knew that I would be willing to excuse some of the mountain's scientists of their crimes so long as they didn't actively want to continue working on their 'experiments' with the grounders, but it wouldn't do any harm to make him _think_ I was that ruthless.

"And on the topic of what we want," I said, reaching up to activate my radio (God bless Beetee's skills at miniaturisation; it would have been a real pain if we hadn't been able to hide these things), "Commander, this is Mockingjay; how are things going outside?"

" _We have the mountain surrounded and all entrances covered_ ," Lexa replied at the other end (for a woman who'd never used a radio before now, she was adjusting to it rather well). " _I have taken up position at the main entrance with the Mariner_ -"

"COMMANDER!" Cage suddenly yelled at the radio. "This is President Cage Wallace of Mount Weather; I have a proposition for you!"

"Do you really think-?" I began.

" _I will hear what he has to say_ ," Lexa interjected, in a tone that reminded me of Steve when he refused to listen to any argument I might try to make. " _Speak, President Wallace_."

"Your new… allies… have done a good job at taking us by surprise, but do you seriously think that you can destroy this mountain without taking considerable losses?" Cage said. I was uncertain what kind of point he might be about to make, but I decided it was best to at least give Lexa a chance to handle this herself if we were going to work together later. "I have a simple alternative; let us keep the prisoners we have from the Ark, and in return, your people can go free."

" _I see_ ," Lexa said, her tone contemplative as the four of us waited in silence, before she spoke up once again. " _I have considered your offer, and my answer is no_."

" _NO_?" Cage yelled incredulously, looking at the radio as though it had personally offended him. "But- but I _promise_ we will leave your people-"

" _Only so long as you tolerate the perceived primitives waiting outside your gates until the day comes when you strike us down to impose your own view on the world_ ," Lexa cut him off. " _The Avengers defy many things I believed about the way things work, but my former teacher chooses to fight alongside them as she has become something new; if she will trust them with her strength, I will trust in the strength of the Avengers over the strength of the_ Maunon."

"You- you're making a mistake-!"

" _I do what is right for peace_ ," Lexa said coolly. " _I choose to believe in the peace that the Avengers will bring as they prove themselves to be heroes, over the peace you promise that only lasts as long as it is convenient to you_."

"And that's that option taken off the board," Clarke grinned at Cage as Lexa ended the call. "Seriously, you already wasted your biggest gun and lost to one of the _newest_ Avengers; do you seriously think you've got anything to offer _anybody_ in this situation beyond just surrendering and asking for an easy death?"

"We saved so much from the culture that came before-"

"Which we can collect after this place is empty," I cut him off. "Believe me, we recognise that the mountain itself has things to offer, but the work that was done here was an abomination that has to end- which reminds me…"

I raised a hand to my ear to activate my radio. "Iron Man? How's things at your end?"

" _Coming along_ ," Peeta replied, as I turned up the volume on the radio to let the others hear the news. " _Raven enjoyed the flight to the tunnels, and she's confirmed we'll have the fog machine down in a few moments; Beetee still can't crack the code from outside, but these people didn't really prepare for the possibility that someone would attack them from_ inside."

"The fog- you _can't_!" Cage yelled. "We need that-!"

"You condone the existence of a machine that produces acidic fog and wonder why we consider you the villains?" Thor cut the president off with a cool glare. "You condemn yourself with every moment; do you truly believe we shall ever allow you to remain here?"

"NO!" Cage yelled, pulling a small box out of his pocket and pressing a button. I had no idea why they hadn't come out earlier, but as soon as Cage pressed that button, various doors on either side of the corridor opened up (and I heard a few more opening further along), revealing a large number of Mount Weather guards. Clarke, Thor and I shifted into defensive postures as the guards gathered around us, glaring at us in outrage with their weapons aimed directly at the three 'intruding' Avengers.

"I tried to be reasonable about this, but you _had_ to keep pushing it, didn't you?" the self-proclaimed president said, looking at me with a fanaticism that put me uncomfortably in mind of Cato during his final stand; there were only a dozen or so guards as far as I could tell, but even with Thor's power to take into account, that would be more enough to do some damage in this confined situation. "You tried to defy everything the Avengers stood for, but you _will_ defend America as they did or be cut down here and now-!"

"You really think we're afraid of bullets?" Clarke cut Cage off, grinning at the older man in a manner that I could only hope Cage didn't realise was a bluff. "We're the Avengers; we didn't get to be heroes because we were afraid of getting shot."

"You are nothing but idealistic fools who ally with arrogant savages; you don't realise that we are what Earth needs to survive-!"

" _Hi there_ ," Octavia's voice cut in over my radio, still turned up loud enough that even the surrounding soldiers could hear it. " _Sorry to bother you, but Raven called to suggest that Mockingjay should be aware that we've got a few stubborn asses hanging around in here_."

"In what way?" I asked, enjoying Cage's fuming glare in response even as he didn't try to stop me talking (whether because he thought he was still in control or he wanted to know who was out there I wasn't going to worry).

" _In the sense that a certain doctor decided to set off a plan that would possibly destroy_ everyone _in this mountain because she can't take the fact that she's losing_ ," the ice-wielding Avenger confirmed. " _I've got no reason to believe she's lying, so we've got about an hour before some kind of bombs go off that'll release some kind of gas all through the mountain, and when we're still not sure how Bellamy survived that_ -"

"Bellamy's alive?" Clarke looked sharply at my radio. "I thought-?"

" _That's… well, it's tricky to explain_ ," another voice replied, sounding amusingly bemused as he spoke to Clarke; I assumed that it was Bellamy, but I hadn't spent enough time with him to know him for sure. " _Even the doctor wasn't sure how I survived it, but she had this whole idea about how she could use me as a template to change human evolution until O showed up_ …"

"Changing evolution?" I repeated sceptically, ignoring the scowl I received from Cage; if he hadn't started shooting at us yet, I didn't think he was going to start yet. " _That_ doesn't sound like a good call…"

" _It had its disadvantages_ ," a new voice said. " _Why do you think so many of us had enough_?"

"And who is this?" I asked.

" _Call me Jefferson_ ," the man replied. " _I was with the doctor's guards, but after hearing the full details of what she had planned… well, let's just say I wasn't the only one who didn't like the idea that she'd end up killing most of us on a 'maybe'_."

"I don't suppose you have the authority to convince these people that we're willing to end this now?" I cut into the conversation. "I will admit that the Coalition are probably going to want at least _some_ people executed for what you've done to them, but we'll do our best to argue for leniency."

" _We… appreciate that, Mockingjay_ ," Jefferson said at last. " _I'll_ -"

"NO!" Cage yelled, pulling out his own radio and flicking it on. "This is President Wallace to all loyal residents of Mount Weather; prepare to-!"

Another guard fired at Cage before he could finish his command, but the shot had been such an impulsive move that the bullet only grazed Cage's arm and struck another soldier just behind him. As the guards turned to look at each other in shock, Clarke and I grabbed two of them by the arms and hurled them into their fellows, leaving Thor to fire a quick blast of lightning from his palms that stunned most of the guards nearest us and forced them all to drop their weapons.

Drawing on every bit of unarmed combat instruction I'd received from Clint, Steve and Finnick since I became an Avenger, I launched a series of rapid kicks and punches that knocked down the nearest standing guards before they could do more than turn to face me, with Clarke making a fair showing of her own combat abilities as she knocked down another couple of guards. As Thor took down the last few guards, Clarke and I grabbed a pair of dropped guns and aimed them at Cage, who was kneeling on the ground and glaring up at us as he clutched at his bleeding arm.

"You really thought those guys were going to stop us?" I grinned at our fallen foe. "We're the Avengers, Cage Wallace; I'm not going to deny that our weapons make it easier for us to hold our own, but if we needed the tools to be heroes we wouldn't have been given the job in the first place."

"You _bitch_ -!" Cage glared up at me with a low shock in his gaze, as though he wasn't sure if he should try and keep arguing or just break down.

"Heard it," I grinned mockingly at him (God, I _loved_ being in control as an Avenger; I didn't even want to think about what would have happened if Coin had gotten her way), before I turned to Clarke and Thor. "Right then, we have allies down below; let's get this guy secured and then go and join them."


	38. Inadvertent Lockdown

With Clarke leading the way and Thor keeping a tight grip on Cage, we marched our way down to the bottom of the mountain. I had briefly thought about leaving Cage with the soldiers we'd knocked out before capturing him, but Thor had pointed out that it would be best to keep him 'on hand' in case we needed a bargaining chip, and it was probably safer to make sure he didn't try anything else anyway.

In the end, however, it was almost embarrassingly easy to reach our destination; we had run-ins with a couple of pairs of guards as we advanced, but it didn't take Clarke and I long to put them down for the count while Thor held our prisoner, leaving us to continue on our walk. I was slightly surprised that Cage kept quiet all the way down, but it wasn't hard to see him as the type of leader who underestimated his enemies until it was too late; considering that he'd been desperate enough to release the Abomination when he learned we were the Avengers, I doubted he had anything better on offer.

Finally we reached the lower level and made our way to what Clarke had identified as the mountain's main dining area, where I found Raven, Peeta and Monty standing patiently outside the locked door with various anxious expressions on their faces.

"Everything OK here?" Clarke asked.

"Depends on what _he's_ doing with you," Raven indicated the president.

"We captured him and don't have anywhere to put him," I clarified.

"Fair enough," Peeta said, a certain satisfied edge to his voice that I wasn't used to hearing from him, even after he became Iron Man and started seeing the darker side of the world. "Anyway, Monty told us that Jasper and Maya already gathered most of the anti-transfusion faction and got them to hide in that room for security-"

"Security?" Cage cut in incredulously. "You're trying to protect a bunch of fools-!"

"Who have actually held onto their moral integrity in a difficult situation," Peeta countered, before he raised his arms and lit up his palm repulsors with a smile. "And after that, it wasn't that hard to hold the line once we got here."

"Seriously, that armour?" Raven stage-whispered, indicating Peeta with a broad grin on her face. " _Wow_."

"You like it, huh?" Clarke smiled in response.

"Like it?" Raven repeated, looking at Clarke as though she'd suggested it would be a good idea to cut off her own head. "Girl, I would join your team's _cleaning crew_ so long as I got to touch that armour every day for a week!"

"And she had a few ideas to offer about how we might be able to compartmentalise the system while we were waiting," Peeta noted, a smile on his face as he raised the faceplate to look at me. "She was thinking that we could adapt this suit to give each system its own power supply so that I don't need to wear the whole armour to use its weapons. Obviously I'd still need the whole thing for the big fights, but maybe we could make a few modifications so that I can just use a gauntlet to break down a door or launch a couple of quick punches if I was caught by surprise when I'm off-duty, something like that…"

"OK, not that I'm not glad that Raven's found her niche, but maybe we should focus on getting these people out of here?" Clarke indicated the door.

"Right…" I nodded at my new second before looking at Monty as I indicated the door. "I take it Maya and Jasper are in there?"

"Jasper thought it would be a good way to reinforce our support for this plan, and Maya went in there with him to explain the situation," Monty nodded. "I just stayed out here to make sure the door stayed locked; I set up a few new codes and then destroyed the lock to stop anyone on their side from forcing me to open it up from here."

"Is that not an extreme response?" Thor asked.

"Considering that this guy and people like him have spent years treating people as commodities?" Monty indicated Cage with a pointed glare. "I _have_ to take things seriously if we're going to get anyone out of here."

"You don't need to do all this; we just need-!" Cage began.

"To make others suffer so that you can get what _you_ want," I cut him off. "We already talked about this, Cage; you treat people like _things_ , and we're not willing to tolerate that. Believe me I recognise that there are times when extreme solutions are the only option, but you need to balance how far you want to go versus how far you need to go. I nearly killed half of my current team because I was basically stuck in a life-or-death contest and certain there was no other way to get out, but I realised afterwards that people might have been willing to explain the plan to me if I'd been more open from the beginning."

"You nearly killed-?" Monty looked at me in shock.

"But she didn't do it," Clarke stepped in, looking contemptuously at Cage as though warning him not to say anything before she placed a hand on my arm and gave her old friend a reassuring smile. "We've all done things we're ashamed of, Monty; we can't just keep judging other people because they're not perfect."

"And talking of teams, where are the others?" I asked, looking around to confirm that nobody else had an immediate answer before activating my suit radio. "Mockingjay to Bloodaxe; what's the situation at your end?"

" _Hey, 'jay_ ," Johanna replied. " _We're tracking a few guards, but I don't think we're going to have any big problems so far; unless they kept something else in reserve, I think we can concluded that they already wasted their big gun on Big Green_."

" _Which I'm definitely grateful for_ ," another voice put in.

"Who-?" I began.

"Bellamy?" Clarke cut in. "Are you all right?"

" _Still dealing with the fact that I was just subjected to the whole 'blue crystals of death' thing and spent a few hours in some kind of cocoon, but_ -"

"Terrigen Crystals," Thor cut in, the Asgardian king looking solemnly around at the other Avengers as he spoke, keeping his voice loud so that he could properly address everyone on the other end of the radio. "I have not seen the crystals you have been exposed to, but from what I have heard about your experience, including your survival where others died and acquiring powers from the process, it is likely Terrigen Crystals."

" _You know about- OK, just what exactly_ are _Terrigen Crystals_?" Octavia asked. " _Another Asgardian creation that you forgot to clean up_?"

"No, they were the result of another alien race known as the Kree," Thor explained.

"More aliens?" Peeta asked in surprise.

"On Earth?" Raven grinned.

"They're… those things are _alien_?" Cage looked incredulously at Thor.

"Eons ago, their empire waged a very long war against a fierce enemy," Thor explained, making it clear that he was ignoring Cage as he addressed the other Avengers. "The causalities were high and they needed more soldiers, and so a faction among the Kree began conducting unsanctioned experiments across worlds, modifying the DNA of the residents of those worlds using Terrigen Crystals. These modifications proved to be fatal failures in most cases, save for one world."

" _I'm guessing that would be Earth_?" Johanna inquired. Once again, I found myself admiring what my team had achieved since we'd become Avengers; we'd gone from being a collection of teenagers rebelling against the local government to a group who were taking the genuine concept of alien interference on Earth in stride.

Thor nodded. "The rogue Kree constructed a city to carry out their work, gathering those individuals who gained power from their process, until their people came and shut down their work, and it appeared as though that would be the end of the matter. That only changed when Sif returned from a mission to Earth, sent there while my brother posed as my father for a time after the defeat of the Dark Elves. She told us of how the crystals affected humans, that an agent of SHIELD had become Inhuman, and as we came to learn, there were far more Inhumans living on Earth than we could have expected."

"But you just left them alone?" Clarke asked.

"It was not as if they lived in a city where we could have approached them and opened dialog. The city that Kree built ages ago was long abandoned and deep underground by the time Sif had come to Earth. Many Inhumans retained the appearance they had before exposure to the crystals and were able to remain in human society. There were a few cases where the mists would radically change one's appearance to align with their new gifts, but these tended to remain discreet. That said, I am unsure of their current status at this point; those few public Inhumans retreated underground after Hydra's initial assault, even before the Maestro initiated his final war."

" _There could be… more like me_?" Bellamy cut in, a tone in his voice that I could only think of as tentative awe.

"We'll… work that out," I said, cursing my initially hesitant tone as I looked around at the others. "Right now, the priority is to get the innocent out of here-"

"We only wanted to survive-!"

"In a manner that is unacceptable to all other civilised beings on this world," Thor cut Cage off.

" _The point_ ," I interjected more firmly, "is that we have more immediate concerns right now; once everything's secure here, maybe we can work out where any other Inhumans might be hanging out these days."

"I agree," Clarke put in. "The first priority has to be getting these people to safety before anything else happens. Lexa's willing to let us do what we can to protect anyone living here if we can assure her that they didn't personally do anything to anyone outside the mountain, but that still leaves us obliged to at least let them kill several soldiers and scientists."

"Just like a savage…" Cage muttered before Clarke slapped him over the head.

" _Seriously_?" Octavia asked. " _We're still going to kill people_ -!"

"If you think there's a better way to deal with this crap, I'd like to hear it," I informed the newest Avenger. "I had to make it clear to Lexa that we wouldn't stand for her just killing _everyone_ in this mountain and draw a clear line between who everyone would accept as innocents and who had actually done something to hurt the people out there."

" _And what about the ones who just don't have a choice_?" Octavia asked. " _There are a lot of guards in here who're just doing their job because they think we'll kill_ them _first_ …"

" _Let's just let Mockingjay and the others get the known innocent out of here and we'll deal with the rest_ ," Johanna said firmly. " _And on that topic, what's the plan on the 'get them out' front_?"

"You said you could take them up to Asgard for treatment," I looked over at Thor. "If we know where they are-"

"We must transfer them directly from here to a secure location in Asgard until they can receive the appropriate transfusion," Thor explained. "For this to work, without Mjolnir to help me direct the Bifrost, I must be standing within a group of them so that Heimdell can focus the signal appropriately."

" _You can transmit that thing through all this rock_?" Johanna asked. " _Without just breaking the mountain, I mean_?"

"The power of the Bifrost goes beyond terms that your science can understand at this stage; a concentrated blast would breach solid matter, but a brief connection is safe," Thor replied with a slight smile. "It will be difficult to transfer them from one point to another without them materialising in the Bifrost control room itself, but Heimdell assures me that preparations have been made."

"You could take-!" Cage began.

"I regret many of my past actions already, Cage Wallace; I will not risk further guilt on my conscience by saving unrepentant murderers," Thor pointed a cold finger at Cage's face.

" _I shall join you to help break that door down_ -" Anya began.

"In a society that has taken this many precautions against any kind of outbreak?" Monty cut in. "If I thought it was as simple as breaking this thing down, I would have asked Thor to start hitting it already, but we can't believe that they're going to make it easy for us. Break down something this secure and we could trigger some kind of explosive defensive measure I haven't found yet."

" _Really_?" Johanna asked.

"Well, I can't be _sure_ , but… better to be safe than sorry, right?"

"Right…" I nodded, looking at Cage for a moment before deciding that it wasn't worth interrogating him; the man would draw out any opportunity he had to feel like he had power over any of us, so it would be best to just assume the worst and deal with this all ourselves. After a brief talk with Clarke to confirm what we knew of the mountain's internal layout so far, I passed Monty one of the guns I'd acquired earlier and turned my radio back on. "OK, Monty's going to head to the nearest staircase and start heading up; Anya, you can join him and make sure he gets to the control room without any problems."

" _The control room_?"

"He disabled the control panels down here after changing the codes; he can only open the door safely from there, and you can help him clear it out," I explained. "Octavia, Johanna, Bellamy, you just keep on searching to make sure who else is down here; we don't want there to be any random civilians hanging around who might be… OK, I get that 'eligible' is probably not the best term, but it's the closest I can come up with right now."

" _And if we find anyone who tries to kill us_?" Anya asked.

"To be blunt, anyone who tries to kill _you_ at this point is probably so fanatically committed to hating us that they're probably going to get executed anyway, but just… try to just knock them out unless they force you to kill them before they kill you," I said. "I mean, considering what we've done so far, who would try to kill us if they're not at least a _bit_ crazy?"

"Good point," Anya observed. " _So_ , _Azurwicha_ , _shall we split up_?"

" _I'll take the wolf and you take the hacker_ ," Octavia said.

" _And I'll go with the Asgardians to keep things under control_ ," Johanna added. I heard a faint noise that I took to be Fenris before the radio fell silent, leaving me to nod in confirmation at Monty before he hurried off deeper into the mountain.

Anya might be only slightly less new to the team than Octavia was, but I had faith that she could protect Monty and stay focused on her current task, where Octavia might need Johanna to help her assume a more pragmatic approach to anything she might find.

We had established control of the situation for the moment, so now all the rest of us could do was wait for Monty to finish his work so Thor could do his part…


	39. The Poison Trap

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and mourn the loss of Chadwick Boseman, AKA T'Challa/the Black Panther. Be assured that, if all goes according to plan, this series will acknowledge his legacy at some future date, as Wakanda returns to the fold to play its part in the reconstruction of society…

Monty had spent a lot of time since he came to the ground wondering if he was just experiencing some crazy drawn-out near-death experience before the dropship blew up and/or they suffocated after Octavia opened the door to a toxic environment, but ironically it was the incredible events of the last few days that had convinced him this was all real.

He might like to think he was fairly bright, even if he'd been caught stealing herbs of all things, but there was no way he had enough imagination to dream up the idea of a whole other civilisation on Earth that had managed to recreate the _Avengers_ …

Running up the stairs to the next level, Monty wasn't sure if he should feel awed or shocked that he'd ended up in this situation, but either way he had a task to do right now and he was going to do what he could to help out. Reaching the level Clarke had indicated was the location of the control room, he quickly left the stairs, only to find himself facing a large green-skinned woman wearing a purple one-piece with similarly-coloured gloves and boots.

"Monty Green?" the woman said in a low, familiar voice.

"Uh… Anya?" Monty looked at the woman uncertainly. "That… that's you?"

"Indeed," the now-confirmed Anya nodded at him with a solemn expression. "I am uncertain of the costume, but I was advised by… Black Widow… that it would be appropriate."

"Right…" Monty nodded as he looked her over again. "You need something that can easily adjust in size when you change, right?"

"That was how it was explained to me."

"OK, good to know…" Monty said tentatively, before he swallowed and looked awkwardly at the large green woman. "Look… I get that this isn't the best time, but I think it needs to be said; I'm… I'm sorry."

"You are sorry?"

"For… what we did to your people during our first weeks on the ground," Bellamy explained, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. "I mean, I could go on about how most of it was self-defence when you didn't give us a chance to explain what we were doing here, but there were definitely a few times when we made things worse when a bit more faith in your side would have calmed things down…"

"Agreed," Anya said, looking at him with a brief understanding smile. "Both of our tribes have made mistakes in the past; your _heda_ and I are now united within the _gonakru_ of the Avengers, and the mistakes of the past shall remain such."

"Thanks," Monty nodded back at her, before indicating the corridor up ahead. "So… shall we?"

Anya flexed her shoulders with an eager grin on her face as she turned around and led the way down the corridor.

_I have a_ Hulk _as a bodyguard_ , Monty grinned to himself as he walked briskly after his former 'enemy'. _Yeah, there is_ no way _I could be making this stuff up_ …

Even if they were ostensibly allies now, Monty was grateful that Anya wasn't exactly a talkative person as they made their way along the corridor. He appreciated that they were allies now, but it was hard to know how to talk to someone who had basically been an enemy just a few weeks ago, and that was before he started thinking about how she'd just become the member of a near-legendary team of heroes that had somehow been recreated without any of the Ark knowing it.

He was so lost in his own thoughts about the situation that he almost missed the moment when they reached the corridor leading to the main control room. He quickly slowed his own pace to prevent himself walking into the middle of something dangerous, but Anya had walked around the corner before he could tell her what to expect. Monty briefly panicked at the thought, but calmed himself when he heard fists being thrown and distinctly masculine yells of pain, accompanied by the sound of flesh hitting rock, only walking around the corner when everything fell silent. He found Anya standing in the middle of a small circle of fallen guards, broken guns mixed in with the unconscious men.

" _Nice_ ," Monty whistled as he looked Anya over in awe.

"They were weak," Anya said nonchalantly, before she turned her attention to the large door that Monty guessed the men had been guarding. "Shall I-?"

"I… think I should open this," Monty clarified. "No offence, but if you break this thing while we're getting in, it's just going to make things… tricky if we have to shut it later."

"A fair point," Anya nodded, as Monty moved past her to open the door to the control room. Taking in the controls, he allowed himself a brief smile as he took in the available technology; this place might have started out as an officially secret government facility, but he wasn't seeing anything in this mountain that was significantly more advanced than anything he'd worked with on the Ark while growing up…

* * *

Back in the Asgardian garb that she was rapidly becoming accustomed to as she walked through the corridors to track down any stragglers, Octavia cursed the way everyone down here seemed to keep working against her. She was fine with killing people who were actively trying to kill her, but the idea that there were people in this mountain who were going to die just because they'd been doing their jobs…  
  
She appreciated that Clarke and Mockingjay- how long would it take for her to feel comfortable calling the other girl 'Katniss'?- were doing their best to spare as many as possible, but still…  
  
She was given something else to think about when she walked around a corner and found a familiar figure standing with a group of guards in a manner that made it clear they'd found something worrying.  
  
"Jefferson?" Octavia looked at her first ally among the Mountain Men in apprehension. "What is it?"  
  
Jefferson didn't speak, but just had his men move aside, revealing a gaping hole in a part of the nearest wall. The hole revealed a bunch of pipes that probably connected to plumbing or ventilation, but what really caught Octavia's attention was the glass container had had been worked into the pipes, a digital clock that was reading downwards from 00:31:43, a very familiar crystal inside.  
  
"Oh, crap," Johanna looked apprehensively at the device. " _That_ can't be good."  
  
"OK, I know that crazy doctor said something about setting off bombs before she killed herself but nothing's happened yet and it's been more than her supposed hour deadline," Octavia stated. "I thought the whole point of this damn mountain was that it's the only place they can be safe; why would anyone here deliberately plant _bombs_ inside their own refuge?"  
  
"Weapon of last resort, a way to screw over the people who conquer you, it really doesn't matter," Bellamy said, eyes on the clock. "The problem right now is we've just got a little more than thirty minutes before this goes off."  
  
Octavia reached up to activate her earpiece. "Azure Witch to Mockingjay, I think we have a problem."  
  
" _On top of everything else_?" Katniss replied, with a tone in her voice that suggested she was used to things going wrong. " _What's wrong now_?"  
  
"We found part of a failsafe weapon within in a wall of the mountain, and we think it's intended to release more of that gas that mutated Bellamy."  
  
"Plus," Johanna added, "I think we can safely say that nobody would rely on just _one_ of these things in a place this big…"  
  
" _Understood_ ," Katniss said. " _Raven, could you_ -?"  
  
" _On it_ ," Raven said, followed by rapid footsteps that likely indicated that she was coming to join them before she turned her radio off.  
  
" _Right_ ," Katniss aid, followed by the sound from her transmission suddenly escalating. " _So, Cage Wallace, care to explain what we're dealing with here_?"  
  
" _Likely an old failsafe program installed by our original leaders during the initial cataclysm_ ," Wallace replied, with a nonchalance that reinforced why Octavia was coming to hate him.  
  
" _Which involved creating a system that would potentially release a mutative gas through this entire mountain_?" Clarke said bitterly.  
  
" _At that point, the mutative side-effects were less well-documented; from what I remember, the designers were trying to set up a system that they wouldn't have to maintain on a regular basis, which included providing a 'toxin' that would not need to be replaced_."  
  
"Like normal poisons have an expiration date?" Bellamy cut in indignantly.  
  
" _This was intended as a last-resort weapon; we wanted something that could be fatal whenever it was deployed_ ," Cage explained. " _Only a few key members of staff were made aware of the existence of this system_ -"  
  
" _Would that have anything to do with why nobody dismantled it_?" Clarke observed.  
  
"And I'm guessing that Tsing was one of those people aware of it these days, which also led to her using it for her little experiments?" Bellamy added, raising his hand and generating a burst of flame to reinforce his point.  
  
" _True_ ," Cage conceded.  
  
"Everyone relax; I'm here!" Raven yelled, hurrying up the corridor and moving past the other Avengers to look over the bomb, only for curiosity to be replaced by grim apprehension. "Oh, _this_ isn't good…"  
  
"You can't disarm it?" Bellamy asked.  
  
"Disarming this thing isn't the problem; if President Evil's telling the truth, the problem is that there's no way we can disarm _all_ of them in time," the mechanic observed, indicating a broken tube sticking out of part of the bomb. "I admit that I'm basically self-taught when it comes to explosives, but if I've worked this thing out right, there's some kind of remote trigger system here, and I think we can assume that the other bombs around here are of the same design."  
  
"In other words someone could set these things off whenever they wanted?" Johanna asked. "But what's with the trigger being hooked up to that pipe-?"  
  
"It looks like this thing was linked to the air conditioning system," Raven put in.  
  
"Air-conditioning?" Bellamy repeated in surprise, before his eyes widened. "Oh God… if all of these bombs have the crystals as their power source, they can't be meant to _explode_ ; I think that…"  
  
"Gotcha," Johanna nodded, assessing the hole herself before looking back at Raven. "What do you think; something in that bomb-thing goes the equivalent of a subtle 'boom' and then the air con releases the gas throughout the building?"  
  
"That… could make sense," Raven nodded awkwardly. "I mean, they can't exactly want to blow this place up if they're going to keep using the mountain as a base, but if they can set those off to contaminate everyone in here…"  
  
"When Tsing admitted herself that she didn't know how I survived?"  
  
"Where there's one there's more," Johanna shrugged. "Plus, like President Wonky Dick admitted, this thing was designed to be a 'last resort' option."  
  
"Take out the invaders while keeping the mountain intact?"  
  
" _The original designers probably reasoned that they would have time to retreat to a select area that they'd designed not to be affected by the blast after setting it off_ ," Clarke observed.  
  
" _That's not its purpose,"_ Cage said, once again with that annoying sense of self-satisfaction in his voice _._ " _As I said, this system was created when the designers only knew about the fatal effects of the gas; we only worked out about the mutative side-effects later. The whole point of this system was that the gas would be unleashed only when all hope was lost, wiping out all life within the mountain and then expel it out to further decimate the ones that destroyed humanity's last hope. It's essentially the ultimate form of scorched earth."_  
  
" _Paranoid bastards_ …" Katniss muttered.

* * *

"Uh… guys?" Monty said, looking anxiously at the computer screen in front of him as he activated his radio, now certain that nobody else was going to have a better idea. "I'm not sure who did it, but those bombs you're talking about? I think someone just sent a signal through the system, the timers are accelerating!"  
  
" _Accelerating_?" Octavia repeated. " _But this one's not showing anything_ -"  
  
"It must have been disconnected from the rest when you took it out of the wall," Monty said, fingers flying over the keyboard. "I don't know who sent the signal, but I've got bombs priming all over the mountain, and it looks like there's only a few minutes until they all go off."  
  
" _OK, so if we just disconnected that one, now that I know what to do_ -"  
  
"There are _way_ too many bombs around this mountain and we don't have enough people to do it all manually."  
  
" _I could come up there to help you find_ -"  
  
"This is a computer problem, not an engineering problem, Raven; no offence, but it's not really your expertise," Monty cut her off, mind racing over everything he could do in this situation. "Unless you can find a map to every bomb in this place and someone with the necessary mix of strength, speed and tech skills to shut them down in the next few minutes…"  
  
" _Not gonna happen, huh_?"  
  
"No…" Monty shook his head, before he studied the control panel more carefully. "But maybe…"  
  
" _What_?" another voice cut in over the radio; Monty was fairly sure that was the Avengers' leader, but he didn't know if he should just call her 'Mockingjay'. " _What are you thinking_?"  
  
"I can't turn the bombs off from here, but I _might_ be able to redirect the gas once it's released. If I can just get into the air-conditioning systems… ah."  
  
" _Ah_?" Clarke's voice said. " _That doesn't sound good_."  
  
"It's not," Monty conceded, studying the screen to be sure he had his facts right. "I could divert the gas somewhere where it can't contaminate the whole mountain, but there aren't that many places here that are _that_ secure. Obviously the quarantine room is on a completely separate system from the rest of the air con, and we've already got the people we want to save in this place secure in the main dining room, so that leaves…"  
  
" _So_?" Clarke urged him on. " _Where does that leave us_?"  
  
"Here."  
  
" _Here_?" Mockingjay repeated. " _'Here' as in-_?"  
  
"As in the control room I'm in right now," Monty said. "I can set the system to filter the gas release into this room's central air conditioning system once the bombs go off, and then reset the system to disperse the gas into the outer atmosphere once it's dissipated to a point where it can't do anything to anyone."  
  
" _OK, that… sounds workable_ ," Clarke said. " _I guess you can just set it to_ -"  
  
"Remote control's not going to work," Monty cut her off. "I need access codes to program that kind of timer into the system, and we don't have time to find them if we want to stop these bombs from killing everyone in here; the only way this is going to work is if I stay in here and trigger the switch myself."  
  
" _What_?" Mockingjay said.  
  
" _Wait a- are you saying you'll need to stay in that room when this gas floods into it_?" Bellamy cut in. " _That could_ \- _that_ will-!"  
  
"There's no other way to do this," Monty said, feeling a certain solemnity settle over him as he spoke. "We can't let these bombs release that gas, and there's no other way I can set this system to go off on a timer in the time we've got until the bomb goes off."  
  
" _You can't_ -!" a series of voices cried at once before Monty turned off the radio; he didn't want to have to listen to them any more in case they tried to talk him out of this.  
  
"Your knowledge alone is required for this task, but not you yourself," Anya's voice cut into his thoughts. "I am the stronger, and a fast learner; if you tell me-"  
  
"That could be even worse," Monty stopped Anya, looking over at the Grounder leader with a calmness he couldn't believe he could feel in this situation. "I appreciate the offer, but we have no idea how this gas will interact with your body now that you've changed, and gamma radiation was meant to be used as an explosive before it turned out to have all these mutative side-effects; if you're exposed to this stuff, maybe it'd make you _literally_ blow up."  
  
"Which… will kill others here regardless of our actions?" Anya asked.  
  
"Yeah," Monty nodded at her. "I know how to do this, and there's nothing freaky about my biology; just… lock the door behind you and I'll do this."  
  
Anya looked at him with an unreadable expression for a moment, and then she reached out to place a hand on his shoulder; Monty nearly buckled under the sudden weight, but kept standing as he met her gaze.  
  
" _Yu gonplei ste odon_ , Monty kom Skaikru," Anya nodded solemnly at him before she turned around and left the small room. As the door closed behind her, Monty smiled at the sound of the final clang as the lock slid shut on the other side, before he turned back to the control panel and tapped in the relevant controls.  
  
When the gas started to flow into the room, it was frankly a relief; the last thing Monty wanted was to have to spend a torturous few minutes waiting for the system he'd programmed to kill him.  
  
He'd had a rough few months since he got to the ground, but he'd never felt like he was anything more than a side player in a larger crisis; he wouldn't say that he'd done all this for fame, but at least this way he'd go out doing something unquestionably good.  
  
 _I saved the innocent… I saved the_ Avengers…  
  
Then the gas came in contact with Monty's skin and all he could do was scream.


	40. A Hero Spared

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1: Apologies, but some edits have been made to the previous chapter; I lost track of which Wallace the Avengers were dealing with in the first draft.
> 
> 2: Thanks are owed to David Knight for helping me refine several details of this chapter; hope you like the results.

When Monty's radio cut off, I felt that everyone knew we wouldn't get back in touch with him in time, Clarke looked at me in horror for a moment, but when she noticed Cage giving a slight smirk, she forced that horror down and gave him a cold glare.

"You bastard."

"I remind you that I didn't have anything to do with those bombs-"

"But you didn't remove them either, did you?" Clarke cut the president off in contempt.

"It seemed safer-"

"To keep a potential doomsday device in play?" Clarke almost spat in the man's face. "You all go around acting like you have every right to get out of here and repopulate the world, but you're just… God, you're willing to kill your own people-!"

"Like you're all saints, Miss Griffin-"

" _Falcon_ ," Clarke interrupted, fixing the man with a cold glare. "I may not have the suit right now, but I'm the new Falcon for the Avengers; you don't get to use my name any more."

"Like a new name changes anything?" Cage rolled his eyes at Clarke before he turned to look at me. "Miss… Mockingjay, do you really think you've got any right to the moral high ground after doing all this-?"

" _Don't_ ," I said, drawing an arrow and holding it threateningly under Cage's throat, making sure his eyes were on me before I continued. "I'm not going to deny that I've done some questionable things since I started using this shield and leading this team, but when it comes down to it, the real difference between us is that _my_ _team_ have never mounted mass attacks on innocent people just because they were 'in the way'. I have been leading campaigns against known enemies for the better part of the last year while trying to rebuild society, and I can proudly say that the Avengers-"

"You really call yours-"

" _The Avengers_ ," I repeated with an even firmer glare on my face as I looked at Cage, "have always gone out of our way to ensure that we did _nothing_ to endanger innocent lives, which you can't honestly say the same about."

"Like I should believe-"

"I don't expect you to believe me; I just wanted to make it clear," I said, pressing the tip of the arrow against his throat for a moment, but pulled back as soon as I saw a drop of the blood at the end of it. "Whatever you tell yourselves, your actions are not justified, and we are nothing like you; we're in this to save lives and that's it."

"Even when-?"

"If you're about to bring up the deal with the Commander, that's just us having to make a hard choice in a bad situation," I cut him off. "Unlike your people, we try and ensure that we're _worth_ saving instead of focusing on just saving everyone we like at the cost of everyone we don't. Your mountain and your people attacked us first; all I'm doing is trying to mitigate the damage before any more people die."

"You just don't have the stomach for it, do you?" Cage sneered at me in response. "You can't bring yourself to do what's necessary-"

"I truly raised a fool if you can't understand that what's being shown to you is mercy."

I turned around to face the unexpected voice. A man who looked as old as Snow had physically, brought into the room by two guardsmen. I didn't know him but others did.

"Mr Wallace?" Clarke said surprised.

"Dad?" Cage sputtered, his eyes showing disbelief. "How are you-?"

"Out of the cell that you put me in after your takeover?" the new arrival cut the younger man off in a firm tone. "I think your actions speak for themselves. In less than a week of your 'Presidency', you have almost brought an end to a group of people that have survived for over a century."

"Now that's an-"

I fought down a smile as Cage's smug statement was interrupted by his father striking him in the face.

"You choose to murder our own people along with outsiders because they didn't share your beliefs. In doing so, the doors that kept those we have victimized over the years in order to survive have been destroyed by what I learn is the daughter of Loki! Because of her, the 'savages' can now come through our doors en mass to slaughter every man, woman, and child, and it's only because of the Avengers here that their hands are being stayed."

"As if they would let our people be butchered!" Cage snapped back.

"No. Not all of them." Dante said and looked at me. "I understand you have made a deal?"

"All children and everyone who disagreed with your policies will be spared," I nodded at him. "Your leading figures and certain soldiers will be killed, along with the scientists who took direct part in those experiments-"

"And you call yourselves heroes!" Cage spat. "You would allow those filthy savages to butcher, slaughter, and rape everyone you don't deem worth saving!"

"Rape has never even been considered or suggested, and any executions will be direct and relatively painless," Thor cut in, his eyes narrowing as he studied Cage. "Of course, for those who played particularly significant parts in these events, I believe there is a sentence known as the Death by a Thousand Cuts-"

" _Screw you_!" Cage spat indignantly at Thor. "You don't control me or my people; we don't have to answer to you! I am the Presi-"

"You are _nothing_!" Dante snapped, looking his son dead in the eyes. "You unlawfully took my position from me and now I am taking it back. Because of you and your ambition there will be death, but I will be damned if I allow you to condemn the majority of our people to that fate if there is anything that I can do to save lives." The man turned to look back at me. "Mockingjay, if you have the ability to contact the Commander, please do so. I wish to speak to her of terms for surrender."

"We already-"

"I appreciate that you have made your deal, but I… I hope that the Commander will be reasonable if I make one myself."

"Specifically?" Clarke asked.

"Specifically…" The old man's body tensed, as though afraid of what he was about to say, before he nodded in resolution. "Specifically, if she will guarantee the survival of not only our children and those who objected to our policies, but also those who never actively harmed or decided to harm any of your people, I will guarantee that my cabinet and chief scientists will accept any fate she chooses."

"NO!" Cage screamed, lunging for his father but the guards came forward, restraining him. "You weak son of a bitch; you're just giving in to our inferiors-!"

"Please," Dante said, looking at his son with disgust and disappointment before he indicated his guards. "Get this man out of my sight."

"You fools! You don't know what you are doing! They will kill us unless we kill them! We can save humanity! We are its true saviours!" Cage ranted on as he was dragged away. "It's our _destiny_!"

"In my experience," Thor said, his voice just loud enough that Cage could probably hear him if he bothered to stop ranting, "those who rant about being destined to rule are those eminently unsuited to do so."

Dante only nodded briefly at Thor, but the respect in his eyes showed that he appreciated the man's observation.

I stared at our prisoner for a moment before I shook my head, put the arrow I'd been using earlier back in its quiver, and turned to Clarke. "Come on; we should-"

" _This is She-Hulk to all Avengers in the Mountain_ ," Anya's voice came over the radio, her tone more solemn than anything I'd heard from her before now. " _I have heard the gas be released from the control room… and I have reason to believe that Monty kom Skaikru is dead_."

It was an awkward statement, but I'd seen enough of Anya to understand that she deeply felt this particular loss.

"Oh God," Clarke said, a hand over her mouth as her eyes gleamed with tears. "Monty…"

"I'm sorry," I nodded at her. I may not have spent much time with Monty myself, but it was clear that he'd meant a lot to Clarke, and anything important to one Avenger had to be important to all of us.

" _Always the ones you least expect to make the big play, huh_?" Octavia's voice said over the radio.

" _That's the thing about this kinda situation, I guess_ ," Raven observed, a chuckle to her voice that suggested she was trying to hide her own sorrow. " _When it comes down to the wire, we all end up surprising ourselves with what we're capable of_."

"Let's just…" I began, looking over at the pained expression on Clarke's face before I turned my attention to Thor and indicated the door. "Let's… get these people somewhere safe; we can finish the clean-up and mourn Monty later."

"I shall move them soon," Thor nodded. "Preparations have been made in Asgard for them to be treated for their deficiencies already; once the Bifrost has been activated, they will be taken to a concealed location until they have received the appropriate transfusions."

"Thanks," Clarke nodded at him.

"It does not atone for my past mistakes, but it is the best I can do at this point," Thor conceded.

"OK," I said, looking around at the group for a moment before I made a decision and turned on the radio. "She-Hulk, Blake, you two meet up with Falcon to take a look around this place and work out who else is in this mountain that we have to worry about or needs our help; Thor stays here to get our innocents to Asgard for treatment, and Bloodaxe and Ice Witch can join me at the control room so we can get a better idea of Monty's condition."

" _Why us_?" Johanna asked.

"Because you have a weapon that can get through any door we're faced with and Ice Witch can keep it contained if there's any gas still in there."

"… _Good call_ ," Johanna responded. " _See you there in a tick, Mockingjay_."

"Right," I said, before moving to take a hold of the former president's arm and looked over at Thor. "You get these people back to Asgard; I'll keep an eye on President Wallace here until we're ready to hand him over to the Coalition."

"It shall be done," Thor nodded. Returning his nod with my own, I tightened my grip on the president's arm and set off for the control room where my new teammates had just lost another friend, the president silently walking beside me. I wasn't sure if he had just given up on trying to make an appeal for leniency or if he was waiting for an opportunity to escape, but in either case I wasn't going to give him anything from my end either. Dante Wallace might not be the kind of twisted psychopath I'd faced when dealing with Snow, and he was certainly a better man than his son, but he wasn't exactly a good man either; no good man could have tolerated what his people had been doing to the Coalition for this long.

I had to remind myself not to vent my frustrations at him just because I had a bad experience with presidents when dealing with Snow and Coin. Wallace might have allowed his people to capture the Coalition and perform experiments on other human beings, but at least he had a legitimate reason for doing that beyond just being a sadist…

When I reached the control room, I smiled to find Johanna and Octavia already in position, the two looking impatient but evidently willing to wait for my cue.

"Who's the old guy?" Johanna asked, raising a semi-teasing eyebrow.

"Dante Wallace, technical president of Mount Weather."

"And the reason he's not dead yet?" Octavia began with a warning tone to her voice.

"Because I have surrendered to the judgement of the Avengers and wish to make an appeal to the Commander before there is any further unnecessary bloodshed on both sides," Wallace replied.

"If you think-" Octavia began.

"I fully anticipate that my own life will be one of those lost, and I accept that," Wallace nodded formally at her.

"It's true," I confirmed. "We'll sort out the details later, but in the meantime… well, let's get this door open."

"Check," Johanna said, turning to face the door as she raised her axe, before slamming it into the door with such force that the metal fell apart on either side of the blade. Octavia's hands were raised in preparation to summon ice if necessary, but it swiftly became clear that the gas had already dissipated, leaving an empty room with something very unexpected inside.

"OK," Johanna glanced over at Octavia as she indicated the cocoon shape in the middle of the room. "You've seen this before; that's basically what happens when these crystals _didn't_ kill you, right?"

"Right," Octavia nodded, before looking back at me. "Do you think we're ready for another addition to the team?"

"Let's see what he can actually _do_ once he's out before we start going that far."

"After seeing what Bellamy could do-?"

"We don't know how this whole process works, so we can't be sure if all the powers gained by this thing can be useful in a fight; if Monty comes out of that thing with something random like the ability to… change his hair colour or something like that, I hate to be blunt, but he wouldn't be able to do much in the field," I pointed out, before I shook my head with a sigh. "Anyway, we'd better make sure there's nobody else here; if we're going to leave this mountain for the Coalition to sentence the survivors, it would probably be better if they knew where everyone was."


	41. The End of Mount Weather

" _Attention, Avengers_ ," Mockingjay's voice suddenly emerged from their radios, prompting all parties to stop and listen to their leader's latest report. " _Bloodaxe, Azure Witch and myself are pleased to confirm that Monty Green is not dead; he has manifested a cocoon after exposure to the gas, and we have every reason to believe that he will emerge from it safely_."

"Another-?" Clarke began, before she turned to look at her companions with a broad grin. "Monty's alive!"

"Another cocoon?" Bellamy looked at Clarke with exaggerated indignation. "I'm suddenly feeling a bit less special."

"Like you needed the ego trip?" Clarke retorted with a teasing smile. "You're still the half-brother to a demi-goddess; you don't need to be our only… crystal mutate to be interesting."

"Indeed," Anya observed, looking at Bellamy with a surprisingly teasing smile on her face, before she looked more solemn. "But it is… good to know that Monty did not die."

"You missed him that much?" Clarke looked at Anya in surprise. "I didn't think he'd be- I mean, when you said his fight was over-"

"He was a courageous warrior who faced death to save others; just because he would have died well does not mean that it would have been less regrettable to lose him so early in our time together."

"Yeah," Clarke smiled. "That's one thing I've actually liked about coming to Earth; it's let us all see what we really are when it comes down to the crunch…"

"Even when that's not always a good thing?" Bellamy asked. "I mean, Charlotte-"

"I'm not saying it's always been good, but when people have come through the experience, we've been stronger even when we don't immediately become Avengers," Clarke said firmly. "We might have lost some people to get this far, but we're not going to let anyone else down from here on, right?"

"…Right," Bellamy nodded, before his eyes narrowed and a thoughtful expression crossed his face. "And on that topic… I think we need to get to the lab."

"The lab?" Clarke and Anya looked at him curiously.

"Where I became… this," Bellamy explained, holding up his hand to generate a small fireball, "I'd just… if Monty could be like me, I'd like to make sure nobody else made it out… and that there's no more surprises down there."

"Surprises?" Clarke asked. "Like what?"

"When O came to my rescue, Tsing had a scalpel at my throat. I got so angry that my powers reacted for the first time and I ended up burning her," Bellamy explained. "She started going on this rant about humanity evolving, and then she smashed the Terrigen crystals in the room. Most of us got out of the lab before we could inhale the gas but Tsing and two guards were still inside when Octavia flash froze the doorway, keeping the gas contained inside…"

"But the doctor and the guards…oh," Clarke said, as an apprehensive expression crossed her face. "If Monty was right that something sent a signal that set those explosives off early… do you think someone did it on purpose?"

"The way our luck's been since we came down here?"

"Good point," Clarke conceded. "Lead the way. I'll call Raven, see if she can't get the air vented from the lab by the time we get there."

* * *

_Why is this happening? How can things have gone so wrong?_ Cage asked himself as he was walked through the halls on his way to a cell. Everything since his attempt to fire that missile had gone wrong, instead of unfolding as perfectly as his plans dictated. It made no sense to him.  
  
"Why are you people following my father?"  
  
"Stop talking."  
  
"Don't you understand the savages will be given free reign?" Cage shouted in protest. "They'll eat your families alive like the cannibals they are! My father is going to let them kill us to save his own skin-!"  
  
Cage was interrupted when a guard behind struck him in the back, forcing him down to his knees.  
  
"Like you would do any differently?" the guard asked.  
  
"I care about our people! I care about our survival! We are the superior humanity! We can bring back America if you have the will to follow me!"  
  
"You really are a crazy son of a-"  
  
The guard's objections was interrupted when the other guard turned and fired on the speaker. The guard fell to the ground and blood started to pool, leaving Cage to look up at his unlikely saviour  
  
"Really don't like current administration," the man said casually. "Figure you know enough people who don't to make a difference."  
  
Cage smiled. "Yes I do. Your name, soldier?"  
  
"Marshall. Your father's ordered Jefferson to move the late Doctor Tsing's work on the bone marrow samples to a storage depot two floors down."  
  
"Late?" Cage asked in shock.  
  
"According to the traitor, Tsing became unhinged experimenting with the death crystals during a confrontation with Loki's daughter; got herself exposed to the mist but the alien witch survived," Marshall said. "Still, all the doc's samples have been moved; there may even be a finished cure."  
  
Cage felt a multitude of emotions, torn between being upset and confused at the doctor's seemingly senseless death even as he tried to focus on the hope he felt for his own future. "Well then, what say we liberate that cure for the people who truly deserve it?"

* * *

" _Took a while to get access to the right system, but I managed to hack the lab's air filtration from one of the remote terminals down here_ ," Raven said over the radio. " _Bit of a tricky job, but all of the air has been purged from the lab. No risk once you get inside_."  
  
"Thanks Raven. Talk to you later," Clarke said while looking over the iced over opening to Tsing's lab. "Doesn't get easier, seeing sights like this."  
  
"You're kidding, right?" Bellamy asked as he put his hands on the ice started channelling his fire through it. Slowly but surely the ice began to melt, the resulting water falling to the ground. "At least you're still basically human; I'm still trying to come to grips that I have alien DNA and powers, and that's not even counting the fact that Loki is my sister's father or the fact he was practically my step father for a few years."  
  
"…Yeah, that's a bit of a twist," Clarke conceded with a nod at Bellamy. "Still, you can't say it's been a dull few weeks."  
  
"Quite," Bellamy smiled, before the last of the ice melted, leaving them free to enter the lab. A quick glance around confirmed that the lab looked for the most part as he remembered, although it did seem surprisingly empty.  
  
"Is… this what you were expecting?" Clarke looked thoughtfully at her friend.  
  
"I… gotta admit, I'm not sure _what_ I was expecting right now." Bellamy walked up to the table he'd been strapped to earlier as he carefully took in the room around him. "When I left it, there was a guard that had been impaled in the shoulder by an ice blade from Octavia on that back wall, another in the far corner that hadn't been able to get away… And Tsing was against this wall..." He stopped when he felt something crunch underneath his boots. Looking down, there were black chips like rock but utterly brittle, spread out in a trail leading forward. "...damn it."  
  
"Bellamy, what are you thinking?" Clarke asked. "You really think she survived this?"  
  
"I did. And I remember breaking out of my shell and there were pieces of rock all around me," Bellamy said.  
  
"Okay, but didn't you say the people that didn't survive also became like stone?" Clarke questioned. "Look, we already know that it took a while for those bombs to go off, but that could have just been a programming glitch. I get that you're worried, but we can't assume that Doctor Tsing got out of this lab just because we can't find her body. For all we know this stuff just made her body dissolve or something; what are the odds that she was changed into… something that she could learn how to use this quickly?"  
  
"I've learned how to use it rather quickly," Bellamy returned.  
  
"You are a survivor who knows how to fight," Anya put in. "From what I have heard, that… doctor… relied on others to do the work while she played with blood and chemicals; it is not a comparable experience."  
  
"Exactly," Clarke nodded. "Look, you said there were some guards that got trapped with Tsing. We find other dust piles, then we know they didn't survive-"  
  
"The guards did not survive," Anya spoke up, getting their attention. "I found piles of rocks and dust, just intended to make us think that."  
  
"'Make us think that'?" Clarke asked.  
  
"When I hunted a traitor to my clan, he tried to make me believe that he had died, killed by wild animals, by leaving a severed hand for me to find, hoping I would lower my guard," Anya said, her distaste showing. "These piles of rocks and dust give me the same feeling as that severed hand; these are too neatly organised to be the natural traces of death."  
  
Clarke looked over both of them and shook her head. "Okay. I get both of you have gut feelings about this but we have bigger priorities than a 'maybe' right now. There are definitely innocent people still in this facility who could get caught in the crossfire, and we only _think_ Doctor Tsing might still be alive; with the bombs no longer a problem, we should probably focus on what we know for a fact."  
  
"...agreed," Anya nodded. "Protection of the defenceless must come before the defeat of our enemies."  
  
"Nice way to put it," Clarke smiled at the large green woman, before she turned back to Bellamy. "OK, so we keep an eye out for her, but no reason to look too hard when we've got more obvious priorities…"

* * *

Octavia had no idea what it said about the current team dynamic when the Avengers' leader was that comfortable going off on her own in potentially hostile territory. She wasn't exactly complaining about the fact that _she_ was trusted enough to go around basically on her own, but what did it say about their leader that she was that independent?  
  
She'd heard a few stories from Bloodaxe and the others about what Mockingjay had been through before becoming an Avenger, so at least she knew that the other girl was capable, but it seemed like they should be working more closely together than this right now. Wasn't the point of being an Avenger to give some of the most unique and powerful people in the world people they could rely on in a fight?  
  
"Problem?"  
  
"Just…" Octavia turned to look awkwardly at the one-armed axe-wielding Avenger. "How do you let your leader go off like that?"  
  
"She's good at her job," Johanna shrugged.  
  
"When her job is meant to be leading us?"  
  
"She might have been trained by the world's best soldier, but there are still times when she can't quite believe that she's the one everyone trusted with this job," the one-armed woman explained. "Mockingjay's earned a lot of faith from the rest of us, but it's like there are always moments where she's not sure if she's proved herself to… well, _herself_."  
  
"And you let her do that?"  
  
"What else can we do?" Johanna shrugged. "We can't just stage some kind of intervention to give her complete confidence in herself; she _needs_ to believe that we believe in her, which means letting her set the pace for when we'll believe in her."  
  
She experimentally spun the axe in her hand and then turned her attention back to Octavia. "Still, she's making good progress kicking ass and leading the fold at her own pace; all we can do is deal with it and let her realise that she's become the leader we need."  
  
"…This is a _really_ weird team set-up you have, you know that?"  
  
"Mockingjay'll get the picture," Johanna shrugged. "She knows that we'll trust her when we're in the thick of the action; she just needs to realise that we believe in her _outside_ of that as well-"  
  
The explanation was interrupted when the two women walked around a corner and almost ran into a small group wearing guard uniforms, followed by a larger group in more casual clothing, led by a very familiar face.  
  
"Jefferson!" Octavia smiled in relief at the sight of her guard ally. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Rounding up the rest of the civilians," Jefferson replied, indicating the group of people behind him. "They've never done anything more than take the transfusions, and most of them would have objected to that if they'd known what we were doing; they don't _deserve_ to die when-!"  
  
"Hey, we're not here to just mindlessly slaughter people; I just call myself 'Bloodaxe' because it sounds good, not because I like my axe to be bloody," Johanna cut the guard off before looking at the civilians. "Get down to the dining area on the lower level; Thor's there to send everyone to safety and medical treatment."  
  
"But just remember this," Octavia added, raising a warning hand and generating an icy blade from her wrist. "If you let _anyone_ come along who thought it was a good idea to cut up living people to save themselves… we are _not_ going to be happy."  
  
Octavia wasn't sure what she'd do if anyone actually tried to defy her about that particular rule, but there had to be advantages to be the daughter of a known psycho, right?  
  
For the moment, she'd just focus on the situation at hand and worry about backing up her threats when she had to.

* * *

Looking back at the men and women he'd gathered to himself, Cage felt a sense of pride at how much he'd managed to accomplish. The savages could rely on those so-called 'Avengers' as much as they liked, but _true_ Americans just needed good old-fashioned ingenuity and a few decent weapons to get the job done.  
  
He hadn't been able to get in touch with Emmerson, but he'd managed to rally at least thirty other people at last count, and he was finally just outside the depot that Tsing's work had been moved to.  
  
"All right, everyone!" he grinned encouragingly at his forces. "Just get into that lab, and we'll have access to everything we need to emerge from this mountain once again! We can establish our authority over those primitives; all they have to oppose us are a collection of swords and shields and self-proclaimed 'Avengers' who don't _truly_ understand what those heroes stood for! We have _earned_ this victory; we _will_ walk on the surface once again!"  
  
As the men and women before him cheered, Cage refused to let himself think about the fact that those 'phony' Avengers had already killed the Abomination; an entity capable of once nearly defeating the original Hulk in battle had to have killed at least _one_ of those primitive fools before he went down, and their 'Thor' didn't even have a hammer…  
  
Pushing that thought aside, he walked into the lab, followed closely by his soldiers. His eyes immediately fell on the large freezers at the other end of the room that should contain the samples of bone marrow already collected; he'd need to work out who among his staff had the necessary medical expertise to carry out the procedure, but after that-  
  
Just as the door closed behind the last of his forces, Cage heard a foreboding click from the door. Before he could properly react, there was a sudden blast of gas from the room's air vents, and Cage suddenly felt his vision dim even as others began to fall to the ground…

* * *

"What…?" Cage muttered as he woke up, trying to retrace what had just happened to him. He could tell that he was in a different room from the one he'd passed out in, and he couldn't immediately see anyone else around him, but beyond that…  
  
"You failed," a more familiar voice said. "For the final time."  
  
Forcing himself to his feet, Cage turned around to trace the source of that voice and soon saw his father standing behind a sheet of glass, in a twisted mirror of the scene when he had Katniss and the 'Avengers' at his mercy (had that truly been hours before?). "What happened? How..." he trailed off as he saw Marshall standing next to his father. "You!"  
  
Marshall simply gave a jaunty wave to the man through the glass, as Dante looked solemnly at his son. "Your 'escape' was allowed because I knew you would go to supporters in either another attempt for a coup or for some other scheme."  
  
"Where are they? My people-"  
  
"Those poor people were doomed the moment they sought to join you in trying to take what was never yours."  
  
"To escape this hell and go to a paradise?" Cage snapped, exasperated at his father's continued defiance of what had to be done. "Why shouldn't we have the right? We suffered long enough! After all we've done- After all _I've_ done-!"  
  
"All you have ever done is use what power you had to make others do the work for you," his father countered solemnly. "Even when you have lost, all you can do is think about yourself, you and those like-minded people. Now they will have pay the price for their folly."  
  
"And what about you?" Cage practically sputtered indignantly. "Capitulating to the savages! To the freaks! They won't understand! They are murderers! We have to put them down into the ground and take back what is ours! But you have long since lost your mind old man!"  
  
Dante simple closed his eyes and shook his head. "Is this enough now, Commander?"  
  
Cage felt his jaw drop as he saw the Commander come from out of the shadows of the room she was now sharing with his father.  
  
"Yes, I have seen enough to know how different the two of you are," Lexa said. "Are you ready to accept my terms?"  
  
"I am."  
  
"Then you _must_ watch until it is done or we will have no deal," Lexa commanded.  
  
"I… I understand." Cage saw his father looked pain for a moment, looking at him with grief in his eyes, before nodding in resignation. "Goodbye, my son."  
  
The President pressed a button, and suddenly the door to the cell opened. Cage stood there for a moment, wondering what was going on, until he heard footsteps. Turning to look at the door, it was easy to see that the people coming in weren't his own, but a group of the outsiders.  
  
Men and women he had called savages and inferiors all his life.  
  
Some of which had knives in their hands.  
  
"No," Cage shook his head in disbelief, even as two strong Grounders took his arms to restrain him, turning him to face both his father and the Commander. "Please no! You can't do this; I'm your _son_ -!"  
  
"Jus drein jus daun," the Commander said firmly, as Cage's father just stared through the window in solemn silence.  
  
As one of the men ripped off his shirt, another began to draw their own blade over one of his arms. Even as the knives sliced into his skin, Cage could only why, why was this his fate…?  
  
Eventually those thoughts soon faded, to the extent that all he could think about was the pain.

* * *

"So we're done?" Katniss looked around the group now gathered outside the battered control room.  
  
"Anyone left in here now is capable of walking out of the main doors on their own accord," Anya nodded. "We have even been able to release a few prisoners from the clans who were still kept in their cells even with their plans for Skaikru."  
  
"All who came to me at the lower levels were able to produce at least one trusted witness that they had never done anything to the twelve tribes of the Coalition before I let them through," Thor affirmed, before he looked over at Johanna and Octavia. "And yourselves?"  
  
"Place seems empty," Johanna nodded.  
  
"And for additional confirmation, Raven helped me sync up the suit's sensors with the mountain's own internal cameras," Peeta added. "I couldn't see _everything_ , obviously, but I ran a check and there's no indication of any remaining unaccounted heat signatures inside this place, apart from a few people in the lower levels."  
  
"…We have done well," Thor observed solemnly.  
  
"As well as any of us could in a situation like this," Katniss replied, pleased to see that the rest of the team around her looked just as solemn as she did. They might have officially won, but no matter how hard they'd worked to arrange a compromise that would keep the innocent safe, there would have still been a few casualties who would have just believed they were protecting their families from ruthless primitives…  
  
" _Mockingjay,"_ Lexa's voice said over the radio.  
  
"Commander?" Katniss responded, shifting her radio to 'Speaker' so that the rest of the team could hear the news. "How are things going down there?"  
  
" _Dante Wallace and I have made our accord. With his witnessing his son's death by a thousand cuts, we accept his surrender._ "  
  
"Hold on; _Cage_ is dead?" Clarke cut in. "I thought he'd been taken prisoner for a later trial-?"  
  
" _He escaped and gathered his forces in an attempt to mount a final assault,"_ Lexa explained. " _We permitted him to gather them at the laboratory where Doctor Tsing's work had been collected, and then Dante Wallace… rendered them unconscious_."  
  
" _An emergency gas used to ensure that troublesome test subjects were contained_ ," Dante put in, evidently listening to the radio call himself. " _Once we moved him to a private room, I spoke with Cage to confirm that he had no intention of surrendering to us or abandoning his vendetta against your people, and then_ …"  
  
" _And then he received the death by a thousand cuts_ ," Lexa finished.  
  
"Death by- and you made his _father_ watch that?" Octavia cut in, disgust clear in her voice.  
  
" _A price I was willing to pay to guarantee the survival of the rest of my people_ ," Dante said, with the kind of grim edge that put Octavia in mind of Thor when he had told her about him abandoning the Ark. " _The rest of my son's followers will be_ …"  
  
" _His immediate associates will soon follow him in the same manners_." Lexa finished for the former president. " _Those who did no harm and seek to atone will be spared and allowed to receive treatment from Thor's people; Cage Wallace's remaining forty followers, who accepted their rulers' treatment of us, will die a direct death_."  
  
"Which is?" Clarke put in, looking anxiously at Katniss.  
  
" _One stab through the heart, quickly and without pain; murder without regret cannot be condoned, but many of these did nothing more personally to us than go along with their orders_."  
  
"That… we can work with that," Katniss decided. "What about Dante?"  
  
" _He shall be judged eventually_ ," Lexa said. " _We shall wait for you to join us_."  
  
"Thanks," Katniss said, before she terminated the call and turned to look at the other Avengers gathered around her. "OK, with that done… are we sorted here?"  
  
"All those who expressed regret have been sent to Asgard for transfusions and will be returned to Earth as soon as they are safe," Thor affirmed.  
  
"And everyone left here either made it clear they're sorry or tried to attack us as 'traitors to America' before we took them down; I think we worked out who's on what side," Johanna grinned as she spun her axe in her artificial hand (she was really becoming fond of that particular 'trick' since she found out how flexible her new arm's wrist was). "Only question now is what we do with this thing?"  
  
"It's… interesting," Clarke said, looking uncertainly at the cocoon that apparently held Monty before she turned back to Bellamy. "Is that… anything like what happened to you?"  
  
"Well, keep in mind that I didn't really see the thing until _after_ I broke out of the damn thing, but it looks basically like what I saw of the remaining bits after I broke out," Bellamy nodded.  
  
"So is he going to be like you?" Octavia asked, looking between her brother and the cocoon with an eager grin (I decided to assume she just wanted a second opinion rather than that she had a low opinion of my own earlier observations).  
  
"Unlikely," Thor said, which at least assured me that my earlier guess had been correct. "From what I have heard, the mutation process caused by these crystals were always unique; no one person would come through it with the same ability, and in some cases subjects could experience significant physical mutation along with receiving a power."  
  
"Physical mutation?" Johanna asked as she indicated Anya. "You mean like Big Green here?"  
  
"Possibly even more extreme," Thor said grimly. "There are rumours of an Inhuman whose mutation rendered him unable to speak because his merest whisper could destroy a mountain, and another whose transformation turned him into… I believe Midgard would have called him a giant 'bulldog'."  
  
"A dog," Bellamy repeated. "I could have been turned into a _dog_?"  
  
"That was one occasion, and that dog was allegedly also capable of teleportation across vast distances-"  
  
"OK, we'll… worry about the maybes later," Katniss cut that discussion off, before she glanced over at Anya. "In the meantime, maybe you could help us get this thing somewhere safe?"  
  
In response, Anya walked over and picked up the strange column as easily as though it was an empty box, smiling nonchalantly at her new leader.  
  
"Was there any doubt?" she asked.  
  
"Quite," Katniss observed with a dry smile. "Well, let's Monty out of here and…"  
  
Katniss trailed off, suddenly reminded of the Commander's forces still waiting outside and their well-expressed desire for vengeance. She was satisfied that Lexa would spare the children, so at least she wouldn't have to deal with the idea that she was basically condoning a new set of Games, but the thought that she had to _let_ people die…  
  
"…Let's just get this over with," she finished, indicating the path leading to the mountain's main exit. As the other Avengers silently walked after her, Katniss was struck by the somewhat comforting thought that at least she wasn't alone in facing this kind of decision; she might be the leader, but she liked to think someone would have spoken up if they had a better suggestion they wanted to offer.


	42. The Secret of the Azgeda

There were so many times since I had become an Avenger that I was amazed at how my life had changed since I volunteered in Prim's place, and this was certainly the most remarkable such moment I'd ever experienced. Fighting against Snow's remaining resources had been relatively straightforward, but in the last few weeks, I'd encountered a lost civilisation, reunited Thor with the niece he'd never known about, and my small team of Avengers had practically doubled in size.

I was still unsure how to incorporate Anya, Bellamy and Octavia into the new group dynamic we were putting together, and there was the enduring question of what Monty would be capable of when he came out of that cocoon, but on the other hand I rather liked Clarke's new tactical perspective. We'd need time to work out an exact balance for our duties, but so long as the new guys would follow Clarke, I had a feeling that she and I would be able to work well together as leader and second-in-command of the Avengers once we had more time to work things out.

As for the mountain itself, apart from the now-former President Wallace, the only resident still currently on Earth was Maya, the girl we'd met earlier with Monty and his friend Jasper; since there had been a few samples of the 'cure' devised by Doctor Tsing when we found her work, we'd decided to use another one for Maya once she'd confirmed that she wanted to stay with Jasper. We'd even managed to find Lincoln in one of the cages the mountain had used for Reapers, basically trying to detox himself from his brief relapse to the distilled sample of Blonsky's blood he'd received earlier, and Octavia had taken him to the hovercraft where we'd left the still-cocooned Monty.

There was still some debate about what was to be done with the mountain itself, but for the moment, the priority was putting the last leader of the mountain on trial for his actions. As I stood on the small platform that had been set up outside the now-empty mountain, standing alongside a group of Coalition representatives and the other Avengers (Octavia back in the blue and silver outfit she'd been wearing earlier rather than the Grounder clothing she'd borrowed for the 'mission'), I was struck for the first time with the thought that I wasn't sure if I was ready for this kind of responsibility. Being an Avenger was almost simple when all I had to do was take down the last representatives of a corrupt government that most people hated, but now I was basically an ambassador to a newly-rediscovered civilisation, had discovered proof that there was more to the world than the country I'd been fighting to rebuild, and was now taking part in the trial of a man whose crimes essentially amounted to wanting to save his people…

"For almost a century, we have lived in fear under the shadows of the Maunon," Lexa spoke at the front of the small platform (I was once again grateful that Clarke had asked her specifically to use English so that we could understand her as well; I was coming to learn that I didn't really have a good grasp of languages). "We have lived in fear while they burnt us and bled us and called us savages. We have won over them with the aid of the Avengers, a team of exceptional gonkru who care not for clan or rank in favour of courage and compassion. There are only a few survivors from this assault who would truly do us harm, and many have been given a chance to live beyond the mountain-"

A voice called out from the crowd, but Lexa held up a hand to halt that protest and looked firmly in the direction of that speaker.

"We have already slain the leaders and those most responsible for the pain and suffering we have endured over these last few decades," she explained solemnly. "We shall not kill those who have shown true remorse, we shall not kill children and call that honourable, and we shall not kill those who have done nothing to harm us. They may have tolerated their lives and never objected to the actions of their leaders, but who among us can honestly say that they would have had the courage to object to cruel leaders? _Sheidheda_ endured because none dared to stand against him even when all knew that his actions were wrong; to kill the Maunon because they did not dare stand against their leaders would require us to slay ourselves for that same sin. The truly innocent and remorseful have been given a chance to atone, and many of the truly guilty have been judged and slain. The only one left is Dante Wallace, he who led the Maunon for many years and gave the orders that led to so many of us being killed."

On a pre-arranged signal, President Wallace was brought to the front of the platform, guards on either side of him as he stared solemnly ahead. Most of his people were still being treated in Asgard, but when we'd found a few samples of Tsing's cure in one of her secondary labs, it hadn't been hard to decide to use one of them on the president. We may have had more objections to the process, but since these phials had already been prepared, we might as well put them to use no matter what we felt about the man in question. Bellamy had also found a couple of broken empty phials that seemed like they'd once held at least a sample of the cure, but while I recognised the need to be cautious, I agreed with Clarke that we didn't have time to worry about the possibility of a missing survivor who wouldn't have the resources to do anything serious to us.

"In exchange for us sparing the truly innocent from suffering the consequences of the sins of their fellows, Dante Wallace has already borne witness to the loss of the mountain he has called home, and even the death of his son, slain by the death of a thousand cuts for his ever-escalating crimes against our own people," Lexa continued. "Execution has been considered, but it has been rejected; regardless of his prior sins, when faced with our victory, he chose to act to save his people rather than to destroy those he saw as foes, even at the cost of his own son. He does not deserve the death of a thousand cuts, but neither does he deserve to walk free. For the sins of his past, he will be sentenced, but for the atonement of the present, he will be allowed to live."

Again, a voice from the crowd yelled in rage, but again Lexa quieted that yell with a firm stare before she continued.

"He will live in prison," she affirmed, looking around the group to make it clear that there would be no argument. "He will live to see how his people have lived in spite of his actions rather than because of them. He will live to know that he will never experience the freedom that he sought to ensure for the rest of his people. He will remain in our cells for the rest of his life, knowing that his actions led to the death of his son and many of his people, all of which he could have avoided had he sought our aid rather than cause such death on his own accord."

"I don't know about the rest of you, but speaking for the Avengers, we can work with that," Clarke put in, stepping forward to look around the gathered members of the Coalition. There was a brief murmur of agreement from the rest of the crowd, before one voice rose above the others.

"Coward!" that unknown voice yelled out. "They have been enemies of all our kind, yet you choose to show your cowardly weakness and make peace? You are not worthy of Azgeda's respect, and you have never been worthy of being the Commander!"

Even as this man had ranted, I felt something off about it. Reading people still wasn't a strength of mine, but the way he was speaking, at that moment, it felt like there was something else behind his words…

In the corner of my eye I saw glint of something high in the trees. I barely had time to register that it was likely a sniper before I heard the familiar sound of an arrow being drawn and released.

Just as I was forced to acknowledge that there was no way I could react fast enough to counter or intercept that blow, I was surprised when a sudden gust of wind passed right in front of all of us on the platform, causing the arrow to be redirected to the left, now of no harm to anyone. I could see the crowd parting, revealing a female figure in dark clothing, with a black cloth covering most of her face, save for her eyes. She threw her right hand up and wind, actual wind, came from the hand and directed at the spot where I had glimpsed the sniper, followed by the man falling out of the tree and hitting the ground with a sickening thud, head-first.

I saw the man who had only been ranting moments ago, his eyes wide with shock, and I knew he and the assassin were connected. I didn't even need to give the order before Finnick had leapt into the crowd and thrown his trident through the air, striking the man and pinning him to the ground by the leg before he could get away. The surrounding warriors looked between Finnick and the fallen assassin in shock, but Lexa called out a command and she approached the pinned man.

"More abominations!" the man spat. "To defeat the monsters you would side with demons? Even _Sheidheda_ was far better a Commander than you could ever hope to be!"

"Who gave the order?" Lexa countered, glaring bitterly at the traitor. "Who told you to try and kill me?"

The man looked back at Lexa and in the blink of an eye, pulled out a knife from behind his back, only to stab himself in the heart even as I raised my shield and Anya's skin became tinged with green.

"OK... what the hell was that?" Johanna said, oh so bluntly yet speaking for all of us. "Does anyone know this guy? Or the dead assassin on the ground some distance away?"

"Azgeda," Anya put in, looking with contempt at the corpse, green flecks in her eyes even as the rest of her skin returned to normal.

"How can you tell?" Finnick asked as he retrieved his trident.

"Most Azgeda have facial scars of some sort, such as these men," Anya clarified, before looking back to Lexa. " _Heda_?"

Lexa shook her head. "Neither of these are Numo, the Azgeda representative." Her eyes narrowed as she looked over the crowd. "And there is a distinct lack of Azgeda among our forces at this moment."

"As in… they took care _not_ to be here right now?" Clarke asked with a tentative edge to her voice.

"Possibly," Lexa nodded at my new second.

" _Heda_ ," a voice said, drawing our attention off that particular conversation topic as we turned to see Indra, along with a few other familiar faces from the Coalition, bringing the cloaked figure that had stopped the initial assassin towards us. "This one says that she means no harm but refuses to identify herself."

"My actions speak for themselves and to reveal myself in public would mean my death," the woman said, looking to Lexa. "I will explain myself to _Heda_ in private."

"After one guy tried to kill her and someone else tried threatened her?" Johanna cut in. "You really think we're going to leave the Commander alone with _anyone_?"

"…I will concede to having these… Avengers present," the woman added, looking around at me and the rest of the team.

"Agreed," Lexa nodded at the woman before she turned to look at me. "Is that acceptable to you?"

"It is," I said. As the woman walked into the tent, I glanced around to make sure that the rest of the team had checked their weapons before we followed Lexa after the woman.

"We are alone," Lexa said, looking firmly at the woman. "Now show me your face."

Slowly, the woman removed the cloth covering her face. She was a young woman with long brown hair.

"…Echo, right?" Octavia said in surprise.

" _Sha,_ Azurwicha," the woman nodded at her with an apprehensive expression.

"You met her?" Clarke asked.

"Switched outfits with her earlier," Octavia explained before she looked at Echo with new understanding. "Jefferson mentioned you were the only other survivor… you were exposed to Terrigen crystals, weren't you?"

The now-identified Echo just nodded, a more solemn edge to the gesture.

"So now you can… control wind?" Finnick looked at Echo with a smile. "Hey, how about that? All we need is an earth-shaker and we've got the full elemental set."

"What?" Peeta raised his visor to look curiously at Finnick. "Full set of what?"

"The old idea that everything in the world was made up of the four basic elements of earth, air, fire and water," Finnick explained. "Bellamy over there's obviously fire, ice is basically just another form of water, and now we've got someone who can control air; all we need now is someone who controls earth-"

"I cannot stay."

"You can't?" Peeta turned to look sympathetically at her. "Look, if we… if _Finnick_ was being too presumptuous-"

"You assume too much," Echo cut him off with a glare. "I spent months a captive of the Mountain, knew that my people would consider me dead and it would be up to me to survive." Her glare faded as she looked at the ground, disturbed. "Never did I ever believe that my salvation would come from... unnaturals. Or that I would become one."

"Unnaturals?" I asked. "What do you mean?"

Echo didn't answer me, but instead looked toward Lexa. " _Heda_ , you know that Azgeda has long maintained its isolation out of a sense of pride in their strength, but there is another secret that you do not know."

"Enlighten us," Lexa replied coolly.

"Since the founding of our tribe, the Royal Family has believed that Azgeda to be the strongest of all, that we are superior to all. Deviants are to be purged to 'protect' the future of Azgeda."

"When you say deviants?"

"If a child born to an Azgeda is born deformed in any way, that child would be killed. If the parents actually refused, the entire family would be put to the blade."

"Excuse me?" Bellamy looked sharply at Echo.

"Deformed?" Johanna asked. "Are we talking anything big, or would it even count if we were dealing with something like… I dunno, a couple of missing toes?"

"Anything," Echo said firmly.

"That is… an extreme response," Lexa said grimly. "They take the Old Ways to a place I would not expect."

"The Old Ways?" I asked.

"In the beginning of our society, when simply living day after day was a struggle after Praimfaya, we needed to be at best. There was no place for weakness. We would train our children as soon as possible to be warriors," Anya answered. "If a child is born with a mutation, they are cast out and abandoned. Doing this would erase the stain from their bloodline."

"That is a pathetic justification for leaving a child to die for something like that," Bellamy said, anger showing in his tone.

"You said that these are the _Old_ Ways?" Clarke looked urgently at the Commander. "Meaning you don't approve of them now?"

"I do not," the other woman said resolutely. "Children are a gift, and no parent should be punished for loving their children. A deformity does not preclude the possibility that the child can make a contribution to society. I have personally seen that happen."

"The Commander does not enforce the practice of the Old Ways, such as _Shiedheda_ did when he led our people," Anya added. "But there are those that do follow that path. Some who have children with afflictions chose to leave, siding with their family over their clan. All clans do things in their own way."

"And yet Azgeda it would seem has taken the practice even further. For all the evil he committed, not even _Shiedheda_ went as far as to kill entire families for such a 'sin'," Lexa observed solemnly.

"And if this is about the risk of people having powers and using them against the Ice Queen… that just shows she's not a good leader," Clarke put in.

"Sha," Anya nodded. "If a warrior is loyal to their commander, as I am loyal to _Heda_ and the Mockingjay, then the strength they possess will not compromise that loyalty. Nia only seeks to suppress any potential threat because she knows that she does not have such loyalty through anything more enduring than fear."

"That is… certainly likely," Echo nodded, even as the hesitation in her eyes made it clear that it was hard for her to acknowledge this perspective on her queen. "Queen Nia is a fervent believer in this. Before my capture by the Manoun, I served as a member of her Royal Guard. I have seen her show her hatred for the unnatural. She would think of me now as an abomination, just they did."

"They?" Bellamy looked at her uncertainly. "Who's 'they'?"

"After I was freed and able to go outside the Mountain, I found a few of my fellow Azgeda, who were leaving. Numo had given the order to all Azgeda to return home. He would not support the Collation when it sided with 'abominations'." Echo looked over to Octavia. "They also displayed their hatred for you in particular, Azurwicha; your very name sounds to as an insult to Azgeda, since you are not one of us. You and your 'demon dog from hell'- their words, not mine."

I could actually feel the tent grow a bit colder. From what we had all seen so far, the Grounders had been very vocally supportive of Octavia, but if enough of the Azgeda felt that way about our newest Avenger…

"It was then they started talking about two Azgeda that would remain behind, one to serve as the distraction while another would end your life with an arrow Heda," Echo continued. "Even I thought that was a step too far. Numo had control of our people here, but to make a choice like that, potentially bringing us to war without the Queen's direct order, was tantamount to stupidity, especially given what I have seen of the Avengers. I tried to tell my fellow Azgeda my thoughts, but they simply laughed. They thought me weak for being captured as I was, and attributed my concerns about the Avengers to simple cowardice. I was furious at having my courage questioned, more so than I thought I could be, and then..."

"That's when your powers manifested." Bellamy finished for her. Seeing her look his way, he held out his hands to display the small globes of fire. Echo's eyes widened in surprise- evidently she hadn't fully registered what Finnick had mentioned about Bellamy's powers earlier- but she seemed to calm when she saw the new sense of sympathy in Bellamy's gaze.

"... I meant to hit him with my fist on the side of the head," Echo said, her tone cool and even, as though Bellamy's demonstration had never happened. "Instead a gust of wind sent him into a tree. At that moment, all of the men who I had considered my people, no longer viewed me as one of their own. They no longer viewed me as human, but just some… _thing_ that had to be slaughtered."

I fully appreciated that feelings weren't something I would ever be an expert in, but it was clear even to me that Echo was now fighting to keep her emotions in check.

"Where are they now?" Peeta asked.

"Dead," Anya spoke up. "You couldn't leave them alive out of fear they would get back to Nia and tell her what they saw."

Echo did not deny the claim. "After taking care of... that, I knew what I had to do. I have no future with my clan, and would have even less if they succeeded in killing the Commander." She turned to Lexa. "I offer my life to you Heda, to return to Azgeda to learn what I can about Queen Nia's intentions while my 'condition' is still secret. I cannot stay as a spy among them, they are still my clan, but you need to know how Azgeda plans to react to the changes that have happened here."

"…Agreed," Lexa nodded at Echo in approval after staring at her in contemplation for a few moments. "Be careful, but be assured that you will be welcomed back to us when you are ready to return. When you do, we will discuss your future."

"Sha, Heda," Echo nodded thankfully at her, looking prepared to leave then but stopped and turned to look at Clarke and I. "This... is all very new to me. I… do not wish to commit to anything so soon, but if…?"

"You can at least train with us even if you don't want to join us," I nodded at her with a reassuring smile. "Believe me, we all know what's it like to be made to take part in something we don't actually want to do; we'd never force you into a position like that."

"What she said," Johanna nodded at me in agreement. "Getting powers and joining the team are totally optional; it's only if you start killing people at random we'll have a problem with you doing something else with your life."

Despite a brief look of confusion at Johanna as though she wasn't sure how seriously to take that comment, Echo nodded at us in silent thanks before she adjusted her face covering and walked out of the tent.

"Right," Clarke said, as she turned back to Lexa. "We'll head back to our main compound, but if you need our help in future… well, take this."

"What is this?" Lexa asked as she studied the plastic box Clarke had handed her.

"A radio," Johanna grinned. "Just press the big button in the middle and you can call the compound; if there's anything your own forces can't handle, we'll be there to help out as soon as we can."

"I shall remember that," Lexa nodded as she put the radio into a pocket inside her coat. "It has been… good… to meet you all, Avengers."

"Same to you… Heda," I said with a tentative nod. So far I hadn't seen anything to make me not trust Lexa as an authority figure, but after Snow and Coin set such poor examples, I was still grateful that Steve had enough political weight to ensure that nobody back in Panem had the right to order my team to do anything. Lexa seemed willing to accept the implication that we would remain an independent force rather than answering directly to her, and I wasn't going to give her any reason to press the issue if I could help it (I had a feeling that Anya would choose Lexa if it came down to me and Lexa giving her conflicting orders, but that would probably be more because of her history with Lexa rather than her respecting Lexa's position more, which was something I could more easily accept).

Briefly distracted by thoughts of my complicated relationship with authority figures, I automatically followed the rest of the team towards the hovercraft, and suddenly found myself wondering why there was no sign of Steve anywhere. I appreciated that he'd assured us he'd only step in if Thor needed Mjolnir, but the fact that he was nowhere to be seen at this gathering at all-

 _He trusts me_.

It was a surprising thought, but it nevertheless stuck with me. People had believed in me when I'd competed in the Games because they had this vision of me and what I was capable of, and I'd certainly been 'trusted' with various missions since I became the new leader of the Avengers, but this was the first truly big event we'd had to deal with since Snow's death. I'd had to make decisions that would affect the fate of the innocent lives in Mount Weather, finding a solution that would satisfy all parties that we could morally live with… and Steve Rogers had trusted me to do that.

It was such a pleasant thought that I only realised we had reached the hovercraft when I literally walked into Peeta's armour as he came to a halt near the back of the group. I was about to apologise when he turned around and indicated that I should go forward, along with Octavia and Bellamy. As we reached the door itself, I saw that Lincoln seemed to be resting more peacefully on the chairs he'd been left on earlier, but Jasper was just staring anxiously at the statue-esque cocoon that still held Monty, while Maya sat alongside him and rubbed his shoulders in an attempt to sooth his concern for his friend.

"Really hoping that he's going to wake up this," Jasper sighed, even as he gave Maya a brief grateful smile.

"He's going to be fine Jasper, he's..." Bellamy stopped as a cracking sound could be heard, a quick glance at the cocoon enough to confirm that cracks were beginning to form up and down it. Some of us braced for an explosion of sorts, Anya turning green again as I raised my shield. However, what happened would be considered anti climatic as the pieces of rock just began to break apart, falling like dust to the ground leaving a gasping Monty to fall to his knees. Jasper was able to move forward just in time to keep him from falling face first to the floor of the hovercraft.

"Holy... I'm still alive?" Monty muttered, looking at his hands in awe.

"Yeah. You are," Jasper said, smiling yet also concerned. "So now that you had your big hero moment, could try to keep out of certain death situations?"

"When are we not in a fight for our lives?" Monty said bemused as Bellamy came forward offering a hand helping him. "That was…"

"Painful. Yeah, in the beginning at least," Bellamy answered, having a good idea of what Monty was feeling. "I'll help you through this man."

"We all will," Octavia said, walking over to him, as he blinked several times seeing her outfit.

"I get that the outfit makes the connection, but I'm still trying my brain around you being Loki's daughter and all that means," Monty mused, as a quick glance was enough to confirm that he didn't look any different physically from the way he had been before he went into that cocoon. "And… was I just in some kind of rock cocoon thing?"

"If it helps, I was in the same position a few hours ago," Bellamy added.

"Right… was the ground this crazy _before_ we got down here, or did we bring something?"

"You drew our attention to this neck of the woods, but I can assure you that we all knew there was some freaky shit going down around here, M," Johanna grinned at Monty as she held up her mechanical arm. "I mean, I _did_ lose my original arm because our ex-President stepped on it before Mockingjay fired an arrow down his throat."

"After Thor tore his jaw off," I felt the need to clarify.

"…Right," Monty nodded uncertainly as he looked over at Clarke. "This… these are really the Avengers?"

"All of them," Clarke smiled reassuringly at him. "But hey, at least you know you're in a world that has heroes."

"Yeah, that's…" Monty began with a tentative smile before he shook his head and looked at me. "Sorry if this sounds selfish, but any chance you could explain what just happened to me?"


	43. Back to the Ark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few details have been updated about Grounder culture from the previous chapter; nothing too significant in terms of plot, but I thought that it was important you all be aware of the changes.

With Finnick and Peeta in charge of piloting us back to Camp Jaha, it wasn't the first time that I'd found myself appreciating the fact that we'd been given a large hovercraft. Not only did it allow us to carry our wide range of weapons, to the extent that Peeta had been known to do some minor work on his armour in one of the rear labs. I would have preferred to go back to the compound myself, but it would be best to let our newest allies know that everything was under control back at the mountain before we moved on to work out our next step, which had led to us being asked to carry a few other people back to the site of the Ark's crash.

The other new members of the team, such as Clarke, Anya and Octavia, were natural passengers at this point, even if Clarke had declined to put on her harness when we were just going home, but Bellamy, Raven, Lincoln, Monty, Maya, and Jasper had also joined us, along with Marcus Kane, one of the Ark's current official leaders. Clarke's mother Abby had considered coming along as well, but she had decided to walk back with the rest of the Ark soldiers. She had claimed that this was because she wanted to show support for the rest of her people, but I personally speculated that it was more about her wanting to guarantee privacy whenever she next had a chance to talk with Clarke about the changes her daughter had been through since her own time in Mount Weather.

It amazed me to consider how much I'd grown as a person, but I could actually see how the other girl was dealing with all kinds of relationship issues with her mother right now. After seeing the different ways Peeta's parents and my mother had reacted to us becoming Avengers (Finnick had lost his own parents prior to him making his deal with Snow to save Annie and Johanna's isolation went without saying), I could see that on one level she was proud of what Clarke had done with her life, but on the other hand she didn't entirely understand why Clarke had chosen to join our team.

As for the rest of the new team members and our current passengers, Kane had chosen to sit at the front with Finnick and Peeta so that he could see where we were going (Peeta was still wearing his armour, even if he'd taken the helmet off) but also have a conversation with Raven for a while. Meanwhile, Monty and Bellamy sat with the core members of our team and Lincoln, Octavia, Maya, and Jasper were resting at the back of the hovercraft in the area that was basically our portable lab, with Fenris staying close to Octavia.

I hadn't seen the wolf up until we had been ready to board the hovercraft, along with everyone that had been with me inside the mountain. Thor had been particularly surprised to see the Asgardian lupine, though the moment had passed. He had told us that Fenris was the result of Asgardian scientists trying to recreate an extinct species from their homeworld, but their flawed experiments had led to one success in the form of Fenris, and even then it seemed as though he was hostile to everyone else, until the wolf had been placed in a preserve to live out his long life in peace.

Thor had no explanation as to why Octavia had felt drawn to go back to Asgard shortly before the assault on Mount Weather, or how she had been drawn to find Fenris in particular. That question was probably the reason the original Avenger had remained silent ever since boarding the hovercraft. Although he assured us he was alright, I could tell something was weighing on the God of Thunder, but decided to respect his privacy. If it was urgent, I trusted that he would tell me when he felt it was appropriate to do so.

Regardless of the questions raised by his presence, Fenris seemed to be a calming influence on Lincoln as well. I could see that the Coalition soldier preferred to be quiet rather than tell us all about his own recent experiences, but he was at least sitting up now rather than lying unconscious, talking quietly with Octavia near the back of the hovercraft. He still got a distant look on his face at times, as though he was thinking about something particularly troubling, but until he decided to actually talk to anyone about it, I was going to give him the chance to deal with things his way.

It was easy enough to see that Octavia was helping him become less tense every moment they spent talking, and I had a sense that it was doing her good to talk to someone who clearly didn't care about the changes she'd gone through recently. The context of the relationships was obviously different, but in a sense their interaction reminded me of the way I'd liked to spend time with Prim just after the Seventy-Fourth Games, as Octavia and I each relied on having someone around who would treat us the same way as they had before our lives had become so complicated…

"So… there's really no way to know how those crystals are going to affect people?" Monty asked, looking curiously around at the rest of us.

"Not as far as we know so far," Bellamy nodded at his friend. "They could kill a person in a very distinctive manner, or they just… well, there's what you just went through."

"That seems a bit… weird," Monty said, looking uncertainly at his arms. So far he hadn't demonstrated any sign that he'd gained powers from his experience with the crystals, and we had all decided not to mention that possibility until he actually did anything unusual. Thor had discreetly confirmed that some powers, according to the tales he'd heard, were relatively 'discreet', such as the ability to talk through statues or able to animate their clay creations, so it was possible that Monty would never learn what he might be capable of…

"We're here," Finnick called back to us, as he set the hovercraft into descent.

"Already?" Monty looked at the pilots in surprise as the rest of us stood up.

"Flight is a _very_ fast way to travel," Clarke said with a brief smile. "I've still been training with my harness, but considering some of the speeds I can pull off at the moment… well, I can only imagine what I'd be capable of once I get confident enough to _really_ push myself."

"Setting yourself high standards, huh?" Johanna looked over at Clarke in approval. "Good call; aim high and you'll never underperform."

"But isn't that a bit of a risk?" Jasper asked as he walked up to join us, looking curiously at the one-armed former lumberjack. "I mean, if you push yourself hard-"

"We can make it work," I said with a cool smile. "That's what distinguishes Avengers from… well, people who are just good at their job."

"Quite," Lincoln said, nodding at me with a slight smile of understanding as he stood alongside Octavia. He might have been here with us, but he clearly understood that he wouldn't be joining Octavia on her new team, and he appeared to accept that with relatively good grace.

"Mockingjay," Kane suddenly said to me.

"Yes?" I turned around to look curiously at the older man.

"It's been a lot to take in over the last few days, but this trip…" Kane shrugged with a solemn expression on his face. "It might be short to you, but it's been enough to let everything sink in."

"What do you mean?"

"I would say it's safe to say Panem is the most civilized and technological society on Earth. Our resources since the descent to Earth have taken a toll. Rebuilding what we've salvaged from the crashed stations into a feasible colony is going to take time and effort as well as resources."

"I gave the Chancellor my own opinion when he asked me about it," Raven added. "Finding working tech out in the wild would be like a scavenger hunt. Finding scrap metal is a lot more likely, and while that would help us in terms of giving Mecha Station the raw materials needed to create new parts for other advanced equipment, the fact is that right now we don't have that much."

"Given that, I was hoping you could speak to your government, in hopes to open dialogue with them," Kane explained. "I believe that this could be a good opportunity for both our people to form a new alliance."

"I… would be open to that," I nodded cautiously at Kane; I agreed with the sentiment he was expressing, but I knew that my authority in situations like this was relatively undefined. "However, I hope you recognise that any deals my government makes with your people will also include our new deal with the Coalition. You can form your own relationship with the Coalition or you can form an alliance with us separate from them, but I have to confirm everyone involved understands that the Avengers are here to protect Panem, the Coalition, and the former inhabitants of the Ark, which means that we can't get involved in any internal conflict between your groups."

"Understood," Kane nodded at me.

"Besides, I can't say we'd object to expanding our contacts beyond Panem," I added with a slight smile. "After all, we're officially Earth's mightiest heroes; we need to go beyond Panem if we're going to truly deserve the title."

"Amen to that," Finnick said as he glanced back at us. "And on the topic of alliances, we're coming into land at the Ark; thought you should all know."

As the ship drew closer to the ground, Kane moved to the front of our small group as we gathered around the door, even if Clarke and I took up our own position just behind him. The rest of the team were relatively disorganised behind the three of us, but a brief glance was all I needed to confirm that Peeta's helmet was back on, Anya's skin occasionally flickered with green, and Johanna's artificial arm was tensed in a manner that made it clear she was ready to grab for her axe if she had any reason to think we were in trouble. I thought about offering to give Clarke the chance to get her harness on, but decided that making that offer would just insult her own ability to handle herself in a fight, to say nothing of the implication that I didn't trust her own people.

With that decision made, we all waited for a moment before the door opened once again, revealing a large group of men and women in guards' uniforms, their weapons at the ready at their sides even if none of them appeared to actually have their hands on their guns directly.

"Welcome back, Chancellor Kane," the guard at the front of the soldiers said. "Is everything settled at Mount Weather?"

"Very much Major Costa," Kane said, though taking in the situation as it was. "You'll forgive me but..."

"Why are my men out here?" Costa supplied. "Better us than others."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, only to spot an answer to my own question when I realised that the focus of their attention was the distinctive dark-haired figure in silver and blue standing near the centre of our group.

 _Octavia_ …

"If you've got other clothes, I'd suggest you'd wear them before coming in," Costa said, in a tone that made it clear that it was more than a suggestion. "Wearing that is going to rile the more excitable people up."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Bellamy asked.

"Denby."

I could hear the anger in Octavia's voice as she spoke his name.

"Correct," Major Costa nodded solemnly at us. "Briggs and Hardy brought Denby back to camp, and they were going to put him in the brig when Major Byrne was alerted to their arrival."

"And Byrne is?" Johanna asked.

"She is currently in charge of the Guard following Commander Shumway's treasonous actions aboard the Ark before we fell to earth. We hadn't gotten around to picking a new Guard Commander yet," Kane answered, looking pointedly at the Major. "So where is Denby now? In a cell I imagine."

The grimace on the dark-skinned man's face made it clear that this was a forlorn hope.

"You're _kidding_ us?" Peeta looked at the man incredulously, the 'echo' of his armour's speakers making his indignation all the more apparent. "You've let that guy out?"

"Major Byrne had Briggs and Hardy unshackle him almost as soon as he got here," Costa confirmed. "He's probably continuing to let people know about 'the alien bitch that would kill us all'."

" _Alien bitch_?" Octavia repeated in outrage, ice shards forming around her knuckles. "He seriously-"

"OK, Ice Miss, I get that you're pissed-" Johanna moved over to place her metal hand over Octavia's arm.

"He's telling people- you don't know what-!" Octavia began and I could see Fenris growling, picking up on the atmosphere around us.

"I know from experience that giving people the psycho they expect you to be just ends up leaving you with nothing more than a bad rep," Johanna replied, the brief flash of pain in her eyes the only sign of the girl who'd never been able to get over the loss of her family all those years ago. "Guy deserves whatever you give him, I won't deny that, but you _don't_ deserve what it would do to you and your rep."

"So he just… are we seriously meant to _ignore_ this?" Bellamy snapped in outrage. "That bastard nearly killed my sister just for being _born_ -!"

"We get that," Finnick looked solemnly at the new firestarter. "Trust me, I can get feeling like you can't do anything for your family, but you're not going to get anywhere getting mad about it."

"And trust me, everyone here knows how messed up this is," Costa put in sharply. "Denby was never my friend but he was someone I thought I could trust to have my six, but to have Major Byrne sweep that kind of abuse under the rug and then hear him spewing out this hatred I never thought he could have... if it wasn't for Captain Rogers I can almost guarantee you'd have a much different reception than this."

"Steve?" I looked around, smiling in relief when I saw my old Avengers mentor standing a short distance behind the other guards, Thor's hammer in his flesh hand.

"Katniss," Steve smiled at me before he walked over to Thor, handing the other Avenger the hammer. "Glad you didn't need this."

"I was assured that it was in safe hands and we followed a wise plan," Thor nodded respectfully at Steve and I as he attached the hammer to his belt.

"It worked?" Steve looked at me.

"It worked," I nodded. "The truly guilty are being punished, the guilty but repentant have been sentenced, and the innocent are being treated on Asgard."

"Excellent," Steve smiled. "Good job handling that situation, Mockingjay."

"We all came up with the plan-"

"But you convinced the Commander to accept our proposed solution," Steve cut me off with a warm grin. "That's why I chose you as the leader, Katniss; whatever situation you're in, when push comes to shove, your goal has always been to ensure that as many people live as possible."

"And… that's why you didn't come along?"

"You need to learn that you can't always rely on me as your 'safety net'," Steve nodded with a tentative smile. "I had faith that you could manage."

"And you needed to help keep things under control here?" Finnick indicated the crowds.

"Captain Rogers… well, I'm not going to lie that even _I'm_ entirely convinced he truly is who he says he is, but he's good at keeping things calm," Costa said, looking thoughtfully over at Steve. "Actually, I think he and I might have something in common; there's an old family legend that a great-great-uncle gave his life to help Cap stop Hydra's big attack during their bid for official power, back when everything started to go to Hell…"

"Really?" Clarke looked between Costa and Steve with a smile.

"Most likely," Steve nodded at Clarke with a thoughtful smile of his own. "Actually, if that's right… Commander Costa's great-great-uncle was the man who originally wore your harness."

" _Really_?" Clarke repeated, her grin growing even broader at that news.

"OK!" Johanna stepped forward slightly, metal arm raised in a manner that ensured it caught the light and drew our attention. "I get that digging up family history is a fascinating topic for _some_ people, but right now we've got the more immediate issue of the guy who thought he had the right to basically torture a kid, remember?"

"Right…" I conceded with a grim nod.

"Quite," Kane nodded, even as he gave Clarke a brief smile before he turned to Costa. "You should… probably take us to Denby-"

"I'm staying here."

We all looked at Octavia, who wore the most frigid expression I could have seen.

"O," Bellamy began but Octavia shook her head, her right hand on top of Fenris's head stroking it, though whether it was to keep him calm, keep her calm, or even both of them, I wasn't really sure.

"I'm too angry right now, Bell," the dark-haired girl said solemnly. "I go in there, no matter I do to try and put people at ease, that bastard is going to say something to get under my skin and I'll give him what he wants… I can't risk it; I _won't_ let him be right."

The fact that Octavia didn't want him to be right at least assured me that we wouldn't have to worry about it in the future, but I could also appreciate the sentiment behind her decision, particularly when Bellamy walked over to give his sister a supportive hug.

"I'll fix this," he assured her solemnly after he stepped away, seeing Lincoln behind her, knowing he would be staying behind as support. "I am not letting this asshole get away with this."

"None of us are," I added, before the rest of the team followed Kane into the camp, Monty and Jasper taking Maya to talk with some of the others while the 'official' Avengers accompanied Kane further into the camp. It didn't take long for us to reach where the center of the camp. I could see people working in various ways, trying either build up the camp, civilians trying do their part or members of the Ark Guard providing security

"And there he is," I heard Joanna growl. I followed her direction and decided to identify the older, bald guard as Denby unless anyone told me otherwise. For someone who apparently had had all of the forces back at Mount Weather disliking him to varying degrees after Octavia revealed what happened to her in the Ark's prison, he seemed rather pleased with himself as if he had nothing to be concerned about. He speaking to another woman with blonde hair and marking on her shoulder that I vaguely identified as a major's stripes from Steve's past instructions on military protocol

"Major Byrne," Kane spoke aloud, announcing our presence to everyone.

"Chancellor Kane," Byrne replied cordially. "Welcome back. I've heard that conflict down at Mount Weather has been... unusual to say the least. What has happened to our-?"

"Why is this man not in a cell?" Kane cut off the Major, leaving me unsure whether Byrne or Denby were more surprised.

"Sir?" Byrne asked confused.

"I assume the men that brought him to camp told you what happened," Kane observed, still staring coldly at the major. "Of how he tried to undermine the entire effort against Mount Weather, just to satisfy a grudge against a _child_?"

"Perhaps this… would be better discussed in private?" Byrne grimaced slightly. "This isn't the place-"

"I don't believe this!" Denby snapped, glaring at Kane. "I was ready to give my life to protect you, Marcus. But you told me to return to camp with Costa. You were showing us you were the leader we needed. What's going on? Did the aliens get to you? Everything I have done has been in service to the Ark-!"

"I'm sorry, by what standards are you 'serving' the Ark by torturing an innocent kid just because her mother didn't have her aborted?" Finnick asked with a raised eyebrow and a critical glare.

"Yeah," I said, recalling what Peeta and the others had told me about Octavia's confrontation with this man in the mountain. "I could _just_ about accept you being angry at her mother for going against the rules of your culture, but when you _beat_ a girl whose only crime is that her mother let her be born… well, that's another matter."

"You are aware that you could cause civil unrest by making such accusations against a member of the guard?"

" _Civil unrest_?" Clarke repeated, staring incredulously at Byrne. "He had a _vendetta_ against a teenage girl just because she was _born_ -!"

"And he's hardly the only guard here who former prisoners could raise allegations against," Byrne cut Clarke off. "If we set such a precedent, we open the floor up for every one of your 'group' to start hurling blame for any perceived mistreatment while they were in the Skybox, against any one of the guard they care to name. We need our soldiers in order to defend ourselves, from _all_ threats."

"Are you actually calling us a threat?" I asked this woman incredulously.

"You are not of our people," Byrne stated firmly. "Everything you have done since you found Chancellor Griffin's daughter and inducted her into your group has been one immediate response after another without even a thought given to us." As though she had said enough to justify her actions, Byrne turned to look firmly at Kane. "These people have bypassed all chains of command by dealing with you directly, and we've simply allowed it to happen; that can't be acceptable."

"Things have moved fast, and it is not as if you were not spoken to about the situation, Major," Kane replied with a cool edge to his voice. "You yourself divided up our guard among those who would stay here to defend our people and who would come to attack-"

"But only after you had committed to their actions without even speaking to me," Byrne countered. "An act of war is a military decision. I am responsible for maintaining the security and well-being of our people, and yet you allow outsiders from a foreign nation to dictate our path-"

"When you're showing up in the middle of a potential shitstorm and don't know who half the key players are on the board?" Johanna cut in. "Yeah, you're _really_ in a position to do anything on your own-"

"What my… colleague… means is that our taking command of your forces during this crisis was a matter of expediency to ensure that our mutual enemy was dealt with as quickly as possible-" Peeta tried to explain.

"Enough of this farce!" Denby exclaimed. "You aren't the Avengers any more than I'm Captain America; you're all a bunch of frauds-!"

"Denby, _enough_ ," Bryne said, looking anxiously around at the people gathering to watch the unfolding situation. "This should not be happening out in the open."

"Yes!" Denby snapped, breaking away from the Major, raising his voice even further. "It absolutely does need to be out in the open because everyone needs to know how these fakes are trying to destroy our very way of life."

"I'm sorry, what?" Finnick looked at the rogue guard in surprise. "Aren't you here to find a _new_ way of life in the first place? We can't exactly destroy something if you don't have it."

"Mariner's… OK, that may not have been the _best_ way to say it, but he has a good point," Clarke stepped forward to address the guards. "We're not on the Ark any more; we have to recognise that we've become part of a wider community, and that means accepting their existing rules rather than trying to impose our own-"

"You've been won over by the stupid wings and don't even realise that your new 'friends' just want to us to do what they want!" Denby snapped. "They want us to make nice with the monsters and freaks of this world… or even _outside_ this world!"

Clarke could only blink in silence, obviously lost for what she could say to such rants, as Denby turned to glare at me. "Well, let me tell you something, 'Avengers'! The only thing we need to do to be safe is for you to leave us in peace and we put every last monster freak posing as a human being in the ground! The only good freak is a dead-!"

The yells suddenly came to an abrupt halt as a ball of fire exploded above our heads, our attention all drawn to the source of the blast as we saw Bellamy's right hand reaching up into the air. As soon as he had our attention, he lowered his hand and simply generated a ball of fire above his palm, although the glare he was giving Denby was as cold as ice.

"Shut up already, you racist prick," the new Inhuman said firmly.

Denby stared back at Bellamy in silence, the whole area unable to speak for a few moments, before Bellamy turned around to look at the rest of the gathered guards.

"Is this what happens to us when we get to the ground?" he asked, displaying a sense of authority that must have allowed him to take temporary charge of Clarke's group when they originally came to the ground. "We just let ourselves get stuck in another example of the cycle of hate that could have destroyed the world before? This guy wants to justify hating my sister because she's not human? Hell, we have a Hulk in this room and I've met at least two people with some alien DNA in them, not including me!"

He took a breath to collect himself before continuing. "At Mount Weather, I was captured while undercover. I was set to be executed with others they had sentenced to die by being exposed to something called Terrigen Crystals. The mist that comes from shattering these crystals will kill anyone purely human. As it turns out, I'm one of the 'lucky ones' who had an ancestor that had their DNA altered by aliens for their own purpose. But just because of that doesn't make me or any less human. And what happens if someone else here were to be exposed to the crystals while on earth. None of us know what could, but does that make us 'wrong'? Are we not human just because we have the potential to be something more?"

"He's right," Clarke put in. "We can't judge someone because they just have the potential to be dangerous; fall back on an argument like that and we might as well just kill everyone who might threaten us!"

It was statements like that which helped assure me that I'd made the right choice in making Clarke Griffin my new second-in-command; she was pragmatic enough to be ruthless in a fight, but she was also noble enough that she wanted to keep as many people alive as possible.

"... monsters," Denby muttered in disbelief. "How many more of them are there among us? How many more threats?"

"Oh for- are you _kidding_ me?" Clarke snapped. "Everything that has happened and _that's_ your takeaway? More 'invisible threats'?"

"No, he's right," Byrne said resolutely. "We have to take all potential threats into account, which includes threats from superpowered individuals. Men, take Bellamy Blake into custody-"

"Stand down!" Kane ordered.

"Sir! I don't think you understand the severity of this!" Byrne started and I could see at least paranoia was showing. "We have no idea what this 'alien' thing Blake's talking about actually is! They could be programmed! They need to be isolated and-"

"If you say dissected or executed I will have you removed from the Guard itself!" Kane snapped, stunning Byrne into silence with the scale of his rage. He threw his hands up in exasperation and let out a bitter laugh. "How can you not see it? We just got out of a war with fellow humans and you want go down the same path they did?" He looked over to Major Costa. "What would you do Major?"

Costa looked pensive, not expecting to be put on the spot, but still he answered. "The major is correct, we need to be ready to defend ourselves... but as Miss Griffin pointed out, this isn't the world we expected. We need to adapt with it, not force it to be what we want it to be. We're the minority on the ground, not the majority."

"Exactly," Kane nodded as he indicated me. "We need to start relations with the rest of this country eventually, and that means we have to _accept_ everything this world has to throw at us! Regardless of what we think of them, this world has created a new wave of heroes, and they have chosen some of our own people to stand with them, which means that we have to _show_ that we deserve to be part of this new wave!"

"And speaking as a representative of those heroes, I can confirm that we do _not_ regard having someone who threatens children and considers valued members 'freaks' as an acceptable choice to be in a position of authority," I cut in, surprising myself with my own confidence.

"Thank for the affirmation, Mockingjay," Kane smiled at me, before he turned back to face Byrne. "Major Byrne, you are hereby relieved of leadership of the Guard; from now on, that responsibility will lie with _Commander_ Costa."

Byrne looked absolutely speechless, but Kane wasn't yet done as he walked to Denby. "Hand over your jacket."

"What?" Denby muttered.

"Remove his jacket," Kane looked over at the nearest two guards. "He isn't a part of the Guard any more."

"But- I just- we have to-" Denby protested even as the other guards took the jacket off his shoulders.

"The only reason you're _not_ going to a prison cell right now is that Byrne had a point that there were too many allegations against the guards over the years," Kane said with a bitter glare at the other guards. "The rest of you must understand that a _single_ new infraction will be given full attention, and I'm only even leaving things as they stand on the condition that Denby is dismissed from any kind of authority."

"You can't-!" Denby began, but at this point he saw all of his 'friends' backing away from him. Even Bryne, who had helped him before, was refusing to even look at him.

"Bellamy, this jacket has been stained far too much for anyone to wear it again and mean something," Kane said as he tossed it down to the ground. "If you would be so kind."

"Gladly," the firestarter replied as he held his hand out and fire came forth, burning the jacket to ash in moments.

"NO!" Denby screamed, trying to move in to save the jacket only to be blocked by Costa's men. "That jacket had been worn by my own father! It was ours! You had no right!"

"Then you should have honoured it and him better than this, Denby," Kane stated. I could see the hate growing in Denby's eyes, but the Chancellor just signalled for the guards to let him go and stared back at him in silence. "Go ahead. Take your best shot?"

"... and end up in a cell for the crime of striking the Chancellor?" Denby hissed venomously bitterly. "This is not over. You've taken everything from me, Marcus, but if you think I'll stop telling people the truth about these frauds and freaks-"

"Yeah, I fought a war for the right to say what I thought about people, so right now, I'm going to say that we want you to get out of here _right_ now," Johanna said firmly, shooting a brief glimpse at me that made it clear she was fighting the urge to swing her axe at this man. "You don't have to go to whatever passes for your private home, but you shouldn't stick around here; clear?"

Denby just glared bitterly at the one-armed woman. "One day, your mouth is going to write a check your ass can't cash. And on that day, you are going get what you deserve. You and your fake Avengers," he swore bitterly. "I only hope I'm there to see it happen."

With that said, he turned and walked away.

"Why can't some people just accept that they've lost?" Johanna sighed as she looked after the departing guard.

"Because if we all gave up when we were certain we had lost, many of us would not be here now," Thor observed.

"Maybe, but at least we were fighting to _save_ people," Peeta put in. "Denby just wants to destroy everything he doesn't like…"

"And that's why we're Avengers."

"Huh?" Bellamy looked curiously at Clarke.

"We fight to save lives and don't _entirely_ understand why anyone would fight so hard for the right to kill the innocent," Clarke explained with a slight smile on her face.

"Precisely," Steve and I nodded at Clarke in approval, before we exchanged smiles at that moment of synchronicity.

"So…" Clarke looked around the group for a moment before she nodded in resolution. "If that's everything important dealt with here… maybe we should send someone after Jaha?"

"Jaha?" Steve looked at Clarke curiously. "Who's that?"

"He was the Chancellor before Kane," Clarke shrugged. "Apparently, he got a bit caught up in this tale he heard of this place called the 'City of Light' and went to look for it-"

" _What_?"

I didn't think I'd ever seen Steve look so panicked as when he looked sharply at my new second.

"The… City of Light?" Clarke repeated, looking uncertainly at my mentor. "Does that… mean something to you?"

"You could say that," Steve looked grimly at her. "It's the last remnant of my team's greatest mistake."

"You mean-?" Thor began.

"I do."

"Uh… not meaning to sound insensitive, but didn't I lose an arm to your greatest mistake already?" Johanna raised the artificial limb in question.

"What happened to Bruce was an accumulation of bad life experiences that just drove him to the brink; nobody made the deliberate decision to push him that far," Steve corrected. "What created the City of Light was Tony's attempt to make up for his past mistakes that only didn't create a bigger monster because he didn't have the resources to make it truly dangerous."


	44. The Fall of the Avengers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In advance, this chapter is very focused on exposition, but the time has come for Steve to fill the new Avengers in on some of the specific details of exactly _how_ the original team fell. Just keep in mind that Tony, Nat, Clint and Bruce were drawn into the future in 'Man Like No Other' from a point shortly after the Battle of New York and at least a few months before 'Iron Man 3', with Steve's words inspiring them to do things differently to what he remembered when they got back, and hopefully the events discussed here will make sense.

The only frustrating part about Steve's last statement was that he refused to elaborate on it until we had gathered all our resources, which meant getting the whole team together. The sheer intensity of Steve's expression had cut short Clarke's initial plans to look for her mother before she left the camp, and while Octavia had been torn regarding what to do, when Kane had promised to ensure that Lincoln was treated well, she had decided it was best to let him focus on getting well while she stayed with the rest of the team. Once she had made it clear she was coming with us, even I could see that Bellamy would insist on coming along as well. Anya was suspicious at Steve not sharing more details so far, but she had accepted his and Thor's desire to wait until they were ready to tell us more about the situation, and Clarke's loyalty to the group almost went without saying right now.

Kane had obviously chosen to stay behind to make sure everything went well back at the Ark, but I had to admit that I'd been surprised when Raven and Monty had also volunteered to come along. Clarke had been prepared to turn that offer down, but Steve had simply observed that technical skills would be useful if he was right about what we were up against and had accepted that decision. For the moment, the two of them had settled into the lab at the back of the hovercraft to do more work on the hard drive we'd retrieved from Doctor Tsing's lab, leaving the rest of us to talk with Thor and Steve about whatever had them both so worked up, which included his decision to collect our final teammate for this mission.

"We _really_ need to bring Prim for this?" I looked uncertainly at Steve, unused to Prim feeling comfortable sitting opposite me rather than cuddled up beside me. "If this is as dangerous as you say it is-"

"I've _been_ training, Katniss!" Prim looked at me with an indignant glare that would have made me smile if it wasn't for the black suit she was wearing. "Doctor Griffin's been teaching me some new medical techniques while I was at the Ark, but I don't just call myself 'Black Widow' because I liked Natasha; I want to help out in the field too!"

As much as I hated the idea of Prim putting herself in danger, I had to agree that she'd been doing well in the training simulations Beetee and Steve had created for her back at the compound. She hadn't had much opportunity to go out in the field so far, but I already knew that if I brought that up, Steve would just point out that there would never be a mission where I could guarantee her safety, so it was best to let her get started on a mission where the entire team were available to help if something came up.

"Out of curiosity, why do you want to find this Jaha guy anyway?" Finnick looked curiously at Clarke. "I mean, if Kane's the Chancellor now, do we need the old one hanging around?"

"Maybe not, but Jaha's son was my best friend," Clarke explained with a brief shrug. "Wells was one of the first victims of life on Earth, and… I know it's probably stupid, but I feel like I owe it to Wells to make sure Jaha gets a fresh start even if he can't."

"I've heard worse reasons to save someone," Steve gave my new second an understanding nod before he solemnly looked around at the rest of the team. "But right now you need to understand what we're up against."

"Which is?" Bellamy asked.

"To start with," Thor put in grimly, "the circumstances that led to the fall of the Avengers were not as simple as you believe."

"So it wasn't just Natasha dying and Big Green going psycho?" Johanna asked.

" _Bloodaxe_ ," I glared over at my axe-wielding teammate.

"…Sorry," Johanna winced as she took in the glares from the rest of the team; evidently, even she knew that she had just crossed a line or two with that particular comment.

"…No," Steve spoke up, giving the axe-wielding Avenger a pained glare of his own before he continued. "For the Avengers, things started to go wrong when Aldrich Killian attacked Tony."

"Aldrich _Kill_ ian?" Finnick repeated in surprise. "Now _that's_ a name to run away from."

"Killian was once just another aspiring scientist, but a chain of events led to him having a significant breakthrough and developing a grudge against Tony for 'neglecting' him during a past appeal for funding," Steve explained. "To cut a long story short, Killian created a fake terrorist group using a nanite serum that enhanced the subjects' strength and gave them some pyrokinetic abilities, but could also cause them to literally explode if their bodies couldn't regulate the process."

"Oh," Bellamy said, looking at his hands in apprehension.

"Your transformation is a natural part of your physiology, Bellamy Blake; I doubt that such a fate could befall you," Thor reassured him. "Killian's soldiers were dangerous because he was trying to force such a change on them; such is not the case with."

"OK, so the guy had an army of superstrong firestarters; how'd you take him down?" Johanna asked with an eager grin.

"Firstly, it was only Tony who faced him."

"Only Tony?" Peeta looked at Steve in surprise. "Not the whole team?"

"You have to keep in mind that after we defeated Loki, it initially seemed as though there was no immediate _need_ for the Avengers to remain active as a group, so we… did our own things for a while," Steve explained. "I was working on adjusting to life after seventy years on ice, Clint and Natasha were back at SHIELD, Tony gave Bruce somewhere safe to stay, and Thor…"

"I was assisting Asgard in re-establishing our influence after the destruction of the Bifrost," Thor explained. "My people had spent over two years cut off from the worlds we were supposed to protect; it had required considerable power on my father's behalf to get me to Earth in time to participate in the Battle of New York alone…"

"OK, so you were all busy back then; what does that have to do with Killian?" Clarke asked.

"Tony had made a few new suits since the Battle of New York, but he hadn't really _committed_ to a new model; he'd just made a few variations of his original suit with the idea that he'd be able to pick which one to use in whatever crisis came up," Steve explained. "As a result, he was caught off-guard when Killian's forces attacked his house after he called them out when a friend of his was injured in one of their 'terrorist attacks', and had to use a more basic suit that was intended to be more of a stealth prototype than an outright weapon."

"He was trying to be Natasha?" Prim perked up.

"That's… a slightly disturbing way to look at it, but I guess that works," Steve smiled at my sister before he continued. "Anyway, he was able to get away from the attack and make contact with his home computers to get the other suits ready for him, but while he was tracking Killian's fake terrorists, Killian himself managed to capture Pepper Potts, Tony's… well, she was officially just his girlfriend, but we all knew there was more to it than that."

"Things didn't work out?" Bellamy asked.

"In the sense that Pepper died as a result of Killian's machinations," Steve confirmed solemnly, the memory clearly still a painful one even after all these years. "Tony was able to have his other armours sent to him to face Killian's Extremis-enhanced soldiers at the docks, but the suits were overwhelmed by sheer weight of numbers; Tony was having to ditch one suit for the next as he tried to find one that could do enough damage in one go. In the end, the only way Tony could stop the Extremis soldiers was to set the damaged suits to self-destruct, taking care to trap Killian _in_ one of the last suits before he blew it up… and he didn't realise that Pepper was also at the docks as well until he'd given the command."

"Oh no," Finnick said, a rare display of raw, open emotion on his face as he looked at the original Avenger.

"He blew up his girlfriend?" Prim looked sadly at Steve.

"And that was just the start of things going wrong for Tony," Steve nodded, even as he gave Prim a grateful smile. "As much as we all valued Stark as an ally in the field, as a businessman…"

"Like me, Stark was not well-suited for the responsibilities of running his chosen kingdom," Thor took up the explanation. "Lady Pepper had always been able to keep the relevant parts of his company running smoothly while allowing him to focus on his suits, but with her absent, it did not take long for his company to flounder. That said, he would have done better if one of his most significant investments did not turn out to be the result of an elaborate deception created by another old foe."

"Who?" Anya asked.

"I told you about SHIELD, right?"

"Yeah…" I put in, nodding in contemplation as I recalled what my mentor had told me about them. "They were a kind of… secret security force that handled the strange and unusual, right? Their leader was the guy who brought the Avengers together in the first place to face big threats like Loki and the Abomination?"

"Correct," Steve nodded. "Except that the organisation had been subverted from the beginning by HYDRA."

"HYDRA?" Peeta repeated, reminding me that I still hadn't shared all of Steve's old stories with the rest of the team. "What was that?"

"In a nutshell, a group that believed the only way to protect the planet was to completely control it," Steve explained grimly. "Part of their plan for control involved three helicarriers- think larger versions of these hovercraft with an arsenal on each- equipped with a flight system developed by Tony himself. Once launched, the helicarriers would have been able to basically patrol the entire world, eliminating anyone HYDRA had identified as a threat, while also being impossible for anyone to stop from the ground; their originally-planned launch would have included sending those helicarriers out after several key targets, including the Avengers."

"But… you stopped them, right?" Prim asked.

"To a point," Steve confirmed solemnly. "I realised that something was going on in SHIELD before the helicarriers were launched, but I wasn't able to work out what until I was captured by… an assassin working for HYDRA. They underestimated me just enough that I was able to get away and take one of their agents captive; I interrogated him with some help from the original Falcon for help, but even after I was able to confirm that the other Avengers weren't HYDRA…"

"You didn't get to them in time?" Clarke asked.

"We were able to come together in time to destroy the three helicarriers, particularly with some aid from the original Falcon, but in the process…" Steve sighed, a pained expression on his face. "It's lucky that things didn't go worse; let's leave it at that."

"OK," I nodded in understanding; if Steve didn't want to talk about something that clearly gave him such pain even after this long, I wasn't going to press the issue.

"Anyway," Steve continued with what even I realised was a forced grin, "for various reasons, the destruction of the helicarriers further compromised Tony's financial resources; he barely had enough money to maintain the few armours he had left, never mind funding the team as a whole. We managed to get enough support from what was left of SHIELD to start hunting the remnants of HYDRA, but when we tracked down the group that had taken custody of the sceptre Loki had used during his invasion, which allowed him to control minds…"

He shook his head sadly at the memory before he finished. "Long story short, HYDRA's experiments with that sceptre provoked a brief mental breakdown from Tony that gave him the push to use the sceptre's energy to create a new artificial intelligence program that could theoretically help us protect the world."

"I take it that didn't work?" Clarke asked.

"In the sense that this intelligence named itself Ultron, destroyed Tony's existing intelligence system and then managed to create a body for itself using the remnants of some of Tony's old armours," Steve affirmed grimly. "Fortunately, with most of Tony's existing data access privileges lost after the collapse of Stark Industries and SHIELD reduced to more basic resources, Ultron wasn't able to harness all of HYDRA's resources to use against us, but he managed to gather enough power to try and go after a major nuclear stockpile."

"Hold on, I thought you said that Snow was the one-?" Johanna began.

"He was," Thor confirmed. "Ultron's actions likely inspired the Maestro's own assault by affirming how easy it would be to do such a thing, but at the time, we were able to defeat Ultron's assault and destroy his army of robot drones. After we destroyed his final body and his human allies, Stark speculated that Ultron's consciousness would have been able to retreat into the internet, but he assured us that he still had enough business contacts to be kept informed if anyone attempted to recreate Ultron physically."

"Which… might not have stopped Ultron from just… talking to someone?" Peeta asked tentatively.

"Potentially, yes," Steve nodded. "Stark assured me that there were physical limitations regarding data storage capacity that would stop Ultron from being able to do much from any one location, but he could still disperse himself across other computers if he wanted."

"Huh?" Octavia asked.

"I _think_ Tony told me a bit about something like that, actually," Peeta said thoughtfully. "Basically… Ultron was so complicated that it would take a _very_ large or very powerful computer system to hold him in one form, and… there weren't many people capable of building a computer like that?"

"And he couldn't just try and make such a body himself without us noticing the physical resources or the required power supply being diverted to activate it," Steve affirmed. "From what Tony told me after Bruce… snapped, he was aware of reports of a scientific research team looking into artificial intelligence programs on the scale of Ultron, but they were focusing on digitally uploading the program to be holographically projected rather than creating a fully autonomous body for them. As Tony explained to me, he was able to do… something technical… that basically trapped Ultron and any other artificial intelligence that this team might have developed before it could escape onto the internet again-"

"Didn't they mind about that?" Peeta cut in. "I thought you and the other Avengers were all about defending freedom…"

"True, but there are some mistakes that you can only make once, so it's best to ensure you don't have the chance to make them in the first place," Steve explained. "Besides, once Tony explained that Ultron was in their system, they were willing to let him lock Ultron down in their computers, even if they rejected the idea of destroying their own program. Considering that we were already in a difficult position with the public at the time, it was decided that it would be better for us not to press the issue regarding what they did with Ultron and their other program later. Tony was always concerned that Doctor Franko would make his own mistakes and give her program too much freedom…"

"Wait," I held up a hand as I looked between Steve and Thor, turning over my memory of my first meeting with the four time-displaced Avengers when I'd initially learnt Steve's name. "I thought you told me when… we were talking about the original team… that the original Avengers collapsed after Jane Foster and the Black Widow died and the Hulk went crazy, after which you went to Asgard, you were put into cryogenic suspension, and Tony was just left feeling guilty?"

"In my defence, I was… streamlining things a bit," Steve explained.

"You lied?" Johanna looked at Steve with one of those stares that made it hard to properly judge what she was thinking.

"Well… would you want to relive the full details of learning that everything you had been fighting for had fallen and that you had lost the team that was basically your family for the _second_ time in your life?" Steve said, a hurt, defensive edge to his voice. "I gave you all the facts; I just… adjusted the timings a bit."

"In what way?" Finnick asked.

"In the sense that more time elapsed between my return to Asgard and the nuclear war initiated by the Maestro," Thor explained. "I had maintained semi-regular contact with Asgard after I made Earth my home to confirm that matters at home were under control, but when I returned without Mjolnir, my father was forced to place me in my version of the Odinsleep for the first time."

"The Odinsleep?" Octavia asked.

"At a certain time, I am required to enter a deep state of rest so that I may replenish my energies and restore my natural power reserves. This was the first time I had entered such a state on my own, but with my father preparing to officially pass the throne to me… coupled with my poor condition when I arrived on Asgard, he was required to keep me in that state for longer than would be usual."

"And by the time you woke up, Bruce had become Snow?"

"Essentially yes."

"It took… well, it took a few years," Steve put in with a grim edge. "From what Tony told me, after Bruce had killed Clint and… well, crippled me… he basically went underground for a while. Tony did his best to find where Bruce had gone, still holding onto the hope that he could find some way to help our friend get over his mental breakdown…"

"Really?" Johanna looked sceptically at him. "After the guy _killed_ one of your team?"

"Bruce was always in a… delicate mental state because of his condition; it wasn't hard for Tony to defend his initial actions as just a brief breakdown that Bruce could have gotten over if he was given a chance," Steve explained with a wistful smile. "Of course, that idea was basically over after the bombs…"

"Can we get back to the City of Light?" I asked, realising that Steve was becoming particularly melancholy when talking about this particular point in his life even if he hadn't been an active participant in these events. "What does it have to do with anything?"

"Right…" Steve said, nodding briefly at me in thanks before he continued. "Well, after he helped Doctor Franko's team trap Ultron, Tony kept an eye on their research for the next few years to offer what help he could. A few years after Tony 'put me on ice', Doctor Franko's daughter, Doctor Rebecca Franko, was able to complete her father's research and complete her own artificial intelligence program, apparently independent of Ultron's attempt to configure it to share his own perspectives. Part of that program was what she described as the 'City of Light', which was apparently intended to be a virtual reality network that would allow her to communicate directly with the A.I. program in a kind of digital world. Tony offered Rebecca Franko some help cracking the challenges herself, but… well, the last message he had from her made it clear that she preferred to tackle such problems completely on her own."

"And you think that the 'City of Light' Jaha was looking for has something to do with the City of Light Doctor Franko's program was talking about?" Bellamy asked.

"At the very least it's worth making sure," Steve nodded. "I may not have met with Doctor Franko myself, but Tony's references to her in his surviving notes… well, the term 'City of Light' cropped up almost disturbingly often, with some worrying implications for the associated context."

"So either this Doctor Franko's program is still active now or someone/something's maybe picking up where it left off?" Octavia put in.

"Either way, it's worth checking," I nodded at Steve and Thor in understanding before I turned to Finnick in the pilot's seat. "So where exactly are we going?"

"The captain and I were able to ask a couple of people about what direction Jaha's group were taking when they left the camp and what he was expecting to cross, but beyond that-"

"You have _this_ ," Raven's voice called over to us from the back of the hovercraft, followed by the HUD display in front of Finnick activating to display what looked like a map of the country that soon focused on a particular area, a red line vivid in the middle of the display.

"And 'this' is?" Anya looked sceptically back at the mechanic.

"Map to the City of Light," Raven grinned as she and Monty walked up to join us, the hard drive we'd taken from Tsing's lab in her hand. "We were already checking if this thing had anything interesting on it, so I decided to run 'City of Light' through the search engine just to see what came up, and… well, here we are."

"They had a _map_ to this place?" Clarke looked sceptically at Raven.

"More like they'd worked out approximately where it was; Raven and I just ran that through the ship's computer to give you a clear route," Monty explained, shaking his head with a slight smile. "I don't know if I should be grateful or disappointed that computer tech hasn't advanced that much since the Ark…"

"Just be grateful it all works," Finnick observed as he glanced over the map. "If we keep up an even pace, we should reach the compound in a couple of hours…"

"Compound?" I repeated. "So we're not talking about an _actual_ city, then?"

"It doesn't look like it," Monty confirmed. "From what we could translate from the records, it seems like the whole 'City of Light' thing isn't a physical place, but more of a… well, even they weren't entirely sure…"

"I think we should see for ourselves before we start making assumptions and plans about what we're going to be dealing with," Steve cut the young man off, even as he looked at Monty in approval. "Good job, Mr Green; at least now we have a better idea of where we're going."


End file.
